Cursed
by Team Satisfaction
Summary: Words have the power to curse, but also the power to heal. When Elise Griffin is thrown deep into the darkness of the Battle City tournament, she'll have to use every skill in her arsenal to survive. But what happens when the darkness of the past begins to haunt her, consume her? Only one will be able to save her from herself. Only one will be able to save her from her curse.
1. Chapter 1

"Greetings, duelists! Welcome to Battle City!"

The voice that reached her ears was somewhat familiar, and she couldn't hold back her curiosity. She glanced upwards, raising an eyebrow as a shadow fell across the pavement she was currently standing on.

She heard the laughter before she saw his face. But she knew who he was.

"...Hello, Kaiba," she murmured to herself as the man's face appeared on the massive screen that towered just in front of her. The shadow belonged to a large blimp, and a part of her idly wondered why the man insisted on going to such lengths to be acknowledged.

"It's time to put your duelling skills to the test!"

She sighed a little, tapping her foot against the concrete. She knew he would make a big deal out of this. After all, this was his tournament.

"I hope none of you entered my tournament looking for friendly competition. Battle City is going to be an all-out war!"

She rolled her eyes at his words. Of course it would...

"Before my Battle City tournament begins, I thought I would let you all know what you're in for, in case you want to back out now."

She stared up at the man's face on the screen, her eyes set on his form. This was the whole reason she'd shown up in Domino in the first place.

"Let's begin with my new Duel Disks. Everyone who I decided was good enough to enter received one. With it you can..."

His voice trailed off into a muffle as she looked down at the new Duel Disk attached to her right arm. The machine was certainly hi-tech; she'd activated the thing earlier and the many sounds and lights it emitted had baffled her a little. She guessed she'd get used to it eventually.

"...Next, let's talk about the most important tournament rule. The loser of each duel is required to fork over their rarest card to the winner."

That made her cringe a little. That was a new feature to a tournament that she didn't particularly like.

"If you don't have the guts to risk losing your precious cards, then I suggest you forfeit now. And anyone who is foolish enough can challenge me to a duel, because I'll also be competing in this tournament."

She couldn't hold back the wave of excitement that crashed over her as he said those words. It had been a while since she'd fought Kaiba. She missed the challenge.

"But don't get your hopes up, because I intend to win...and there is one duelist out there who I can't wait to defeat."

"Heh."

She let out a short chuckle, shaking her head. Whoever this guy was, she felt sorry for him. Once the young man's heart was set on something, he wouldn't give up until it was his. His duelling crown was no exception. She knew that from experience.

"And speaking of winning, only the eight best duelists will make it to the final round. These finals will be held in a hidden location. In order to find the finals, you'll need these locator cards," the man lifted his hand, showing off a plastic-looking card with what looked like a puzzle piece inside, "you each received one with your Duel Disk."

She put her hand in her pocket; feeling around and quickly pulling out a card similar to Kaiba's. She didn't want to admit it, but she'd almost thrown the card out. It just looked like a piece of junk to her.

"All right, everything I just said and more can be found in my tournament rule book. Just remember only one player can win and claim the title of Number One duelist in the world...Let the tournament begin!"

Kaiba's transmission cut off, and the blimp slowly ascended, signalling the end of his speech, and the beginning of the tournament. She smiled slightly, once again looking at the Duel Disk attached to her arm. Her gaze lingered on her deck which she had already strapped into place on the machine, and she felt another jolt of excitement run through her. This tournament was going to be an interesting one. She could feel it.

"Hey!"

She raised an eyebrow as a young voice met her ears, and she turned, watching in confusion as a young boy of around 12 ran up to her, a Duel Disk similar to hers attached to his left arm.

"Um...sorry to bother you, but...those tattoos..."

She glanced at her left arm, smirking a little when the bright colours caught her eye, before turning back to him, her eyebrow raised in question.

"...You...wouldn't happen to be Elise Griffin, would you?"

Her smile grew, and she flicked her hair out of her face, a glint of happiness in her eyes as her name was mentioned.

"That would be me."

The boy's eyes grew wide, and a massive grin settled on his face.

"Awesome! I can't believe a Duelist like you is entering Battle City!"

"Trust me, I wouldn't miss this tournament for the world," she said, glancing, once again, at her Duel Disk, "there's a lot of tough opponents I want to face in this one..."

"Maybe...would it be okay if you and me had a duel? I've always wanted to duel with you, and-"

"-Sure, kid," she said with a smile, activating her Duel Disk and watching as the hologram-enablers shot out, setting up the field for them, "I'll duel you."

"Awesome!" The young boy let out a yell, activating his Duel Disk and stepping away a little, making the field larger, "I can't believe I get to duel you!"

"Don't expect me to go easy on you, kid," she smirked as she drew her five cards, "after all, I play to win."

"I wouldn't want you to! Let's duel!"

* * *

Domino City Centre was crammed full of people. Most were duelists, identifiable by the Duel Disks attached to their arms. Some were friends of duelists who came along for support and entertainment; after all, only the elite duelists were granted access to this tournament, which guaranteed some intense battles.

And then there were those who were glancing round uncertainly, unaware of this new championship. All they knew were that there were plenty of people - mostly teenagers - who were assembled together, with the buzz and excitement creating a tense yet enjoyable atmosphere. Most who didn't understand what was going on casually sidestepped the crowds and decided to visit a different part of the city, where as some simply stood and spectated.

The mix of people was certainly one of the largest crowds Domino had amassed, which of course was Kaiba's intention; after all, he always wanted to be bigger and better than everyone else.

"Yugi!"

A voice called out from the crowd, snapping Yugi from his thoughts. He glanced around him, searching for the source of the voice. Mai Valentine was running his way, waving and smiling brightly.

"Hey, Mai," Yugi greeted.

"Pretty good turn out for this thing...all losers," Mai commented, looking around at potential opponents.

"Well, there's a lot of duelists that I've never seen before," Yugi mentioned, not wishing to sound as harsh by calling them losers, yet still noting that there weren't many well known duelists in the crowd around them.

"Yeah, but I know a few who are gonna be worth challenging!" Mai smiled knowingly.

"Oh? Who would that be then?" Yugi was pretty clued up about the elite duelists, and he did try to follow some of the smaller tournaments, often watching them with his Grandpa.

"Hmm... well as I consider us friends, I suppose I could tell you one of them so you can keep a look out, mainly so you stay out of her way. Trust me; her dueling technique will give you more than enough challenge. I'd leave her to the finals."

Mai rambled on, and Yugi was surprised that the woman could talk so fondly of another duelist, especially about how well they play. Had she dueled this other duelist before?

"Oh really? Well then I'll look forward to the challenge! Who am I looking out for?"

"Elise Griffin. You'll know her when you see her. Trust me."

"How do you know she is definitely duelling? Isn't she one of those traveling duelists? What would bring her here?" Yugi wondered. The name rang a bell but he couldn't remember specifics, and couldn't quite put a face to her name.

"Oh, she'll be here. You can trust me on that one," Mai winked ominously. Obviously she knew information that would answer Yugi's question directly, yet she chose to keep that to herself.

"Ah, well okay. Thanks for the tip, Mai."

Not sure whether knowing about this Elise actually helped or hindered him, Yugi thanked her anyway.

"Ah! This is so exciting!" Mai jumped with glee, "I wonder whose butt I should kick first in this tournament?"

Yugi smiled; Mai's words never offended him. It was refreshing to see her so confident, especially when she had the dueling skills to back it up with. Not to mention she seemed to be able to lure anyone in as her opponent, whether they wanted to duel her or not.

While Rex, Weevil and Mako, who had sauntered up to Yugi and Mai from the crowd, argued amongst themselves about who was going to win, Yugi and Mai just ignored them; their threats about more powerful decks were all empty. Buying new, rare cards didn't necessarily increase your chance of winning your duels.

"Yugi." Mai's voice interrupted his thoughts, "I think I'll head off, but remember; next time we meet, we're rivals."

"Right," Yugi agreed. As Mai walked off through the crowd, Yugi turned back to his task of finding his friends.

* * *

"...Annnd, done! Looks like you lose, Bakura!"

The white-haired boy's eyes widened as he stared at the young woman's combination of cards that were laid out on the table in front of him. The combo had been a simple one, yet it had thoroughly trounced him. Her wide array of effect monsters and equip cards had left him baffled, but he couldn't help but feel impressed at her skill.

"I...underestimated you," he murmured, shaking his head slightly, "I never would've thought that a strategy like that could be so effective..."

"Believe me, when I first started duelling, I never would've thought it either," she responded with a smile, collecting her cards and placing them back into her deck box.

It was a simple thing; the box was a deep purple with a number of scuffs and scratches on it, and her name hastily scribbled on the front in bright yellow permanent marker. Although it was faded, the words still stood out, and it was those quickly written letters that had alerted Bakura of Elise when he had passed her.

The two were currently sat opposite each other on a small table in a local Domino cafe. The faint murmur of the customers and the smell of strong coffee had attracted both teens to begin with, but when Bakura had spotted her and recognised her - the young prodigy also known as 'The Mercy Duellist' - all thoughts of coffee had dispersed from his mind.

"But...I never would've guessed that a combo that intricate could be pulled off with such...finesse," he tried to wrap his brain around her cards and their effects, still a little baffled at being beaten. He knew she was good; the titles she held were proof enough of that. But to actually duel her and witness her strength and intellect first-hand was a whole other story altogether.

"Finesse?" Elise let out a snort, smiling, "it's just a card game. Finesse doesn't really mean anything to me. It's all about this," she tapped her head a couple of times, "up here. Learning your opponents cards and strategies and planning against them. That's what I enjoy the most. It's always satisfying to watch my opponents try to figure out my strategies. I don't even think I've managed to use them all, yet."

She glanced out of the window, idly watching as a pair of kids duelled outside, their duel disks glowing and their holograms fighting one another. She'd never understand why, but watching duels like that always put her at ease, calmed her.

Of course, nothing could beat a good old-fashioned duel, like the one she and Bakura had just engaged in. There wasn't anything at stake; no Locator Cards or rarest monsters. It was just a friendly match between two duelists.

"But still...winning a duel without sacrificing a single monster...isn't that a little risky?"

She smiled, leaning back in her chair as she turned her head back to the white-haired boy in front of her.

"Eh, it's adds to the challenge, really. It's a strategy that I've been experimenting with for a while, and I find it works pretty well. It proves that you can't win a duel with powerful monsters alone. You need that kind of balance."

"But then, shouldn't you have powerful monster cards in your deck as well?"

"I do," Elise smirked, pushing her seat back and grabbing her backpack, placing her deck box inside it, "I just find other ways to summon them other than sacrificing. Makes it a lot more fun that way."

"I see..." Bakura murmured softly, before offering her a timid smile.

"I've learned a lot from you, Elise. You're truly a talented duelist."

"Well, it's been a long road, but I've honed my skills, and now I can finally say I'm a good duellist, worthy of the public's attention. It wasn't easy, though. But I'm glad you could learn something from me. Trust me, the first step to becoming great is realising that your strategies alone aren't enough. You have to accept help from others, and build it up from there."

Bakura nodded, the smile on his face growing as he listened.

"I'll remember that. Your advise is heart-warming."

"Well, if you're gonna keep talking like that, I might have to buy you a drink," Elise teased with a laugh. Bakura let out a timid chuckle, although a faint pink blush lit up his cheeks.

Elise called the waitress over, ordering a black coffee before motioning to the white-haired man opposite her.

"An Earl Grey for me, please," Bakura ordered, and she raised an eyebrow, smiling.

"So, you're a tea fan, huh, Bakura?"

"Oh, yes! I actually lived in England for a few months while my father was doing some research there. I would always have a cup, every day!"

"It's funny, I actually lived in England for a couple of years. And the same goes for me; I'd always have one when I woke up in the morning. It was a really nice way to start the day. Hey, did you know that Earl Grey tea isn't even from England? It's actually from China. Tea flavoured with bergamot was unheard of in England until the 1820's, when Lord Grey..."

The young man listened intently as the girl began to ramble, not stopping even when their drinks arrived. She continued to tell him facts about they tea that he sipped at casually, before moving onto other types of tea, and then coffee, before explaining about the many different kinds of drinks and their origins. To many, it sounded like absolute trash, but to Bakura, it was fascinating. He'd seen her on the TV a few times, but never like this. She was in her element; he could tell by the distant look in her eyes and the small smile that had settled on her lips. Seeing her duel was one thing. Seeing her ramble and act like an excited child was another thing altogether.

"That's amazing, Elise. Where did you learn all of this?"

She paused, her eyes darting to the table in front of her as her hands tightened their grip on her coffee ever so slightly.

"Oh, I...I read a lot of books about it, back in the day...kind of stupid, really, I know, but..."

She tapped her fingertips against her cup, almost nervously so, and he shook his head, smiling at her as he leaned forwards, his hand reaching for her own to reassure her.

"No, it's not stupid. It's really interest-"

His fingertips touched the skin of her hand, and a shock ran through them both. Elise's hand spasmed slightly, and the cup in her hands went tumbling onto the table, sending boiling hot coffee everywhere.

"Oh shit, Bakura! I'm so sorry!" She said hastily, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a few spare tissues and haphazardly cleaning up the mess she'd made.

"It's fine, really. It was just an electric shock, right?"

She apologised again, the smile gone from her face, replaced with a frown that didn't suit her features.

"I'm sorry, if I...offended you or anything. I didn't mean to," Bakura murmured softly, and she shook her head, offering him a small smile in return, although he could tell that her heart wasn't in it.

"No, you...you didn't...listen, Bakura...I should...probably get going...I have a tournament to win, after all, and I can't sit around wasting time, now can I?" She said, dragging her seat back and standing. He nodded, although he still couldn't help but feel as if her departure was his fault.

"Alright...good luck in the tournament. I'll be rooting for you!"

"Thank you, Bakura. I hope to see you competing in the next tournament. Who knows, maybe we'll get to duel each other again!"

He smiled, and nodded, waving to her as she paid for the drinks and left the cafe.

* * *

The city was bustling with people as Elise began her walk to...well, she didn't really know where. She vaguely remembered the urgent hunt she'd have to make for Locator cards - the little boy she'd duelled earlier had given up his after she'd beaten him - but her head didn't seem to be in a duelling mood. She kept thinking back to her conversation with Bakura; about how she had rambled without thinking, and how that slip-up had made her remember.

"C'mon, Elise, you said you were going to forgot that time. Look at where you are now. You're a great duelist with an awesome title, and you have the skill it back it up. You shouldn't be focusing on the past."

She sighed, shaking her head as she made a left at the city centre, planning on heading towards the river. She didn't know why, but the water calmed her. Just watching and listening to it made her relax. The last tournament she'd been in had been in Paris, and the hotel where she had stayed had been next to a river. It had been so relaxing there, and she almost regretted leaving that place to come to Domino.

But, the invitation she'd received from Kaiba had been abrupt, and the Duel Disk he'd custom-made for her - he knew she wouldn't be able to say no if he did something like that, and it irritated her greatly - left no room for arguments. She'd boarded the first plane she could to Japan, heading straight for Domino.

Which reminded her, she really needed to find a hotel or something to stay in. She was low on money as well, which wasn't good. Maybe, if Kaiba was duelling in this tournament like he said he was, she could maybe scrounge some money off of him, although she honestly doubted it; they hadn't seen each other in a while, and he was never the...friendliest of guys. Maybe she'd ask Mokuba instead; she got on better with him than his older brother, anyway.

She soon found herself by the river, and she settled to walking along the path at the top of the bank. If she felt like it, she'd go down to the water's edge and maybe stick her feet in it for a while, but right now she was content with walking along the bank, watching the sun shimmering on the water's surface.

Of course, things weren't peaceful for long.

She thought it strange how she'd been thinking of the Kaiba brother's only moments ago, and now, here they were in front of her. Seto Kaiba, his white trench coat billowing out behind him as he stared intensely at something by the water's edge. And his younger brother, who held a large briefcase in his hands and was glancing around him casually. His deep blue eyes glazed over her form lazily, before they widened in shock. Looks like the young boy hadn't seen her approach.

"Hey! Elise!" Mokuba called out, diverting his older brother's attention to the young woman who was standing not far from them. She offered them a small smile in response, not surprised when Kaiba didn't return it. The man's face seemed to be stuck in a constant frown; it took a lot for him to actually smile.

She took a step towards them, flinching as the sky suddenly went dark.

"What the fu-"

She cringed as the area around her lit up as lightning struck down by the water's edge, and a freezing cold wind whipped at her, pushing her back slightly. Her eyes fluttered open after the light had faded, and what greeted her left her speechless.

In front of her, was the largest dragon she'd ever seen. It's bright red body seemed to coil endlessly as it rose it's massive head and let out a roar. She noticed the two - no, four - sets of sharp teeth, and the sharp, intimidating talons that adorned its feet. It's wings were huge and sent the air around it swirling in every direction as it flapped them, causing a cold chill to hit her dead on. For a hologram, this thing sure felt real.

And then there was heat; a sharp, painful heat that shot through her abdomen and caused her to stumble backwards. Meeting that creature's gaze had sent something through her - she didn't know what - and a wave of uneasiness settled in her gut.

She couldn't stop herself from sinking to the floor, her eyes never leaving the dragon as it attacked one of it's opponents monsters - she recognised the man the dragon was fighting against as the famous Yugi Muto - and destroyed it with ease.

She stayed seated on the floor as she watched the duel in a daze; at some point, Yugi had managed to turn the tide, and was now facing off against the magnificent crimson beast with determination in his eyes that seemed to inspire her. She'd watched his duels before, but seeing them live and witnessing the young man's strength; that was an experience on a whole other level.

She couldn't help but sigh in relief as Yugi ended the duel, and the holographic monster - now christened Slifer; she'd heard the name called a few times during the duel - had shattered. Her relief didn't last long, however.

She couldn't help but cry out as another jolt of pain shot through her, this time causing her to fall forwards. She didn't understand why this was happening; she'd only been watching a duel. She pushed her hands out in front of her in a last ditch attempt to stop herself from falling flat on her face, but her eyes widened when she was instead met with thin air.

She slammed her eyes shut as she tumbled down the bank, landing in a painful heap at the bottom. She groaned, feeling her body ache terribly from the scratches that now adorned her body. She faintly heard the crunch of dirt against someone's shoes as they ran closer, and then someone's hand was gripping her right arm tightly.

"Are you alright?"

The deep voice that spoke to her caused her eyes to open slightly, and she gasped as she stared into a pair of concerned violet eyes.

Yugi Muto.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey, everyone. It's DawnStoneSlifer here! (One of the owners of this joint account) We're glad you're enjoying the story so far, and we hope you continue to enjoy it as the chapters go on. We've been planning this fic since October last year, so it's safe to say that a lot of thought has gone into writing this fic. _

_Anyway, we hope you like the next chapter!_

_~DawnStoneSlifer~_

* * *

"I'm fine, seriously. Let go of me," Elise swiped at the hand which was currently grasping her right arm. Surprisingly the hand loosened it's grip on her slightly.

"Sorry. Are you alright?"

Elise looked up into the concerned eyes of none other than the infamous Yugi Muto.

Only moments before, Elise had been looking down at the intense battle, admiring Yugi's strategic planning in using his opponents greatest strength against him. She'd watched as the holographic image of Slifer the Sky dragon shattered, symbolizing the end of the duel.

Elise had felt a wave of warmth wash over her, resting in her abdomen. Thinking that it was relief for Yugi's sake, she ignored it and made to stand from her seated position on the ground. That was when the blood rushed to her head and she couldn't tell up from down.

Without realising, Elise had stepped off the bank and down the steep hill. A few short moments of pain and disorientation later, and she found herself crumpled on the ground a few short paces away from Yugi, who instantly rushed to help after seeing her fall.

"Seriously, I'm good...just stood up too quickly, is all," Elise managed to ground herself, enough so the world stopped spinning.

Now she was standing up in front of him, Yugi - although the spirit of the Puzzle was currently controlling his body - could actually focus on her, his eyes darting from the Duel Disk on her right arm, to the tattoo's up her left. He also took in her brown hair which was pulled into a ponytail, with a few bangs framing her face. Her deep brown eyes locked onto him as she caught him looking at her.

"Elise Griffin?" Yami found himself asking out loud. He remembered his and Mai's conversation earlier on, and the name seemed to fit right in with the young woman standing in front of him. She seemed unique; sporting an unusual left-handed Duel Disk, not to mention the determination in her eyes seemed to suggest she was a force to be reckoned with.

"Huh? How do you know my name?" Elise felt her face flush. She liked to think it was due to being light-headed, but the way this boy had just looked into her eyes made her body tremble. She already felt woozy again, even though she definitely hadn't stood up too quickly just now. She glanced across to Kaiba who was strolling down the bank towards them. Had he told this boy who she was? No, that wouldn't be it; Kaiba wasn't one to talk about other people. Before Yami could answer her question, both Mokuba and Kaiba had reached them, the younger Kaiba holding two cards out for Yugi to take.

"Yugi. So you figured out how to defeat Slifer the Sky Dragon. Well done," Kaiba said patronizingly, "It's a real shame you won't have it for too long."

"Why not?"

"Because you and I are going to Duel for it right now," Kaiba almost threatened Yugi with this request. His tone offered no compromise, and his stubbornness would never let him back down once he wanted something.

"Then when I defeat you, Slifer the Sky Dragon will be where it belongs. In my deck. You see, I'm already in possession of one of the Egyptian God cards, and I plan to win the others. Now, it's time to duel! Once I win Slifer from you, I'll only need one more, then I'll be the number one duelist in the world!" As Kaiba rattled on, Elise rolled her eyes at his typical selfish nature. Yami let out a low growl in response to show his unwillingness to participate in this duel.

At this moment Yugi's opponent started talking again. Elise tried to follow what was being said, but there wasn't enough context to understand the situation that revolved around this young man standing feet away from her. She could understand the threat on Yugi's friends however, and so she did understand his outburst about leaving his friends out of this. His boldness about defending his friends even in the face of a very strong enemy made Elise's heart ache a little.

She'd never known strength like that, and certainly not from the tall man who hadn't even spared her a glance since the end of the duel.

Elise tore her eyes away from Kaiba's figure, in time to see Strings fall to the ground motionless, as if he had instantly fallen asleep, yet she felt the situation was a little more menacing that that.

"I must go now," Yami barked towards the taller man, "Our duel can wait."

He turned his gaze upon Elise, hesitant to leave the girl unattended; no matter how much she reassured him she was fine, her pale complexion and weary eyes said otherwise. Just as he was about to invite her along, rather than leave her on her own, she looked up and met his gaze.

"Are you gonna stand there all day, when it's pretty clear you have somewhere more important to be?" Elise snapped, "Don't think I'll be coming along, running around this giant place. I have better things to do."

"Well...okay then. See you around, I guess." Yami held out his hand to shake Elise's, but not before Kaiba grabbed his shoulder and shoved him in the other direction.

"We don't have time for formalities Yugi, we need to go. I'm not going to let you run away from me. First chance we get I'm going to take Slifer away from you."

Kaiba shot a glare back towards Elise, before taking off after Yami and Mokuba.

* * *

Once they were a safe enough distance away, Elise let out a shaky sigh, and slid to her knees on the ground. All reason for remaining upright for appearances gone, she was able to truly feel the discomfort settling itself within her body. Had she eaten something earlier that day to make her feel like this? Was it a bug maybe?

Before Elise could get to the bottom of how she felt, she heard commotion coming from the sidewalk where she had originally watched Yugi's duel. There were some new figures looking down; first at the motionless, spread-eagle figure of String's, and then next at her hunched over figure.

"Oh shit," she muttered, as she thought about what this scene could look like.

"Hey you! Are you alright? What happened here?" An abrasive voice met her ears, and it seemed to come from the boy who was currently running towards her. Groaning with effort, Elise made to stand, not wishing to show weakness in front of these strangers.

On top of the boy who had just spoken, there was a young girl and an old man running in tow. Wanting nothing more than to avoid these people, she turned to leave. That was until she spotted the Duel Disk attached to the boy's arm.

Looking down at her own, she grinned - what better to take her mind off things, than with a good duel. She was already itching to since watching Yugi's, and besides, she needed to gather the remaining four locator cards to reach the Finals, in order to take on Kaiba. Not to mention that after his lack of interest towards her moments ago, she wanted nothing more than to crush him in a duel and make him notice her.

"Hey, I'm talkin' to you!" Now only meters away, the boy slowed down, and Elise was able to take in the rest of his appearance. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, with a light blue jacket, giving him a casual look, but made scruffy by his dirty blonde hair.

"What happened here?" The girl now spoke up, seeming genuinely worried about the limp form of Strings.

"A duel happened, that's what," Elise shrugged, not wishing to delve into specifics.

"What, so he beat you and you decided to teach him a lesson for it!?" The boy was now pointing his finger aggressively at Elise.

"Now, now, Joey. Let's not jump to conclusions. Besides, this young lady is unlikely to be losing many of her duels," The old man spoke up once he had scrutinized Elise and noticed the tattoos along her arm.

"Nyeh?! Whaddaya mean, Grandpa?"

"Only that this lady standing in front of you is none other than Elise Griffin, a travelling duelist who has won many many tournaments on her journey. I'd say she would give even my young Yugi a run for his money!"

"You're kidding me!" The boy, Joey, exclaimed, now with a hint of excitement rather than accusation.

"Not sure about that, after what I've just seen. But I can hold my own in a duel, that's for sure."

"Hey, do you mean Yugi was just here?" Tea stepped forward.

"Yeah, he just ran off with Kaiba and Mokuba. I don't know where, though. He said something about finding his friends," Elise shrugged.

"Do you think he already has six locator cards? Nah, surely not! Ah! I want to get all of mine so we can go to the finals together. I just need two more! That's all!"

Joey seemed to be getting more frustrated as he went along, even going so far as to reach in his back pocket to show off his locator cards, as if to make sure he still had them.

Elise couldn't help but smirk. How perfect; if she handled this correctly she could be four locator cards up within half an hour, tops.

"I can help you out, Joey is it?" Elise spoke up, "As it happens I have two locator cards," She retrieved them from her backpack, "How about an all or nothing duel?"

"An all...or nothing?" Joey's face dropped as he tried to wrap his mind around this new challenge. "So if I win..."

"You get both of my cards, plus my rarest card from my deck. But...if I win..."

"Then I won't ever get to the final..."

"Nope, and I understand, it's a big risk and all. Plus with me being a more experienced duelist, I would understand if you want to back out. I'm sorry for even suggesting it in the first place."

Elise couldn't even keep the smile off her face. Joey's reaction was exactly as she planned. He instantly started saying that he was as good a duelist as she was and he could beat her in no time.

"Well then, let's duel!" Elise held out her right arm to activate her duel disk. Joey mimicked her, ignoring Tea's plea to forget dueling and to find Yugi.

"You're on, Elise. You haven't dueled anyone like me yet, and as I'm such a gentleman, you can go first."

**Joey - 4000LP Elise - 4000LP **

"Fine by me, but you'll regret that," Elise smiled, drawing her initial 5 cards, and then one extra. Her cards never failed her, offering her countless combinations meaning she always had strong cards for offense and defense.

"I lay two cards face down, and summon Achacha Archer (**ATK1200/DEF600**) in attack mode! And if you pay attention, Joey, my monsters effect inflicts 500 points of damage to your life points when it is normal or flip summoned! And with that I end my turn!" Elise smiled, the comfort of dueling almost making her feel back to normal again.

**Joey - 3500LP Elise - 4000LP **

"So what, I lost 500 life points. Big deal, it's nothing to what you're going to lose when I've made my move! I lay one card face down and then summon my Alligator's Sword (**ATK1500/DEF1200**) in attack mode! Now Alligator, attack her Archer!"

**Joey - 3500LP Elise - 3700LP **

"My turn! I summon Royal Knight (**ATK1300/DEF800**) in attack mode!"

"Ha? That monster isn't strong enough to destroy mine. You sure you're a decent duelist?"

"Quite sure Joey, thank you. I activate the equip spell, Malevolent Nuzzler, which increases my monsters attack by 700 points, making my monsters total attack point 2000, more than enough to destroy your monster! Royal Knight attack! Not only do you lose 500 points due to battle damage, but my Royal Knight's effect means I get to increase my life points by the defense points of any monster destroyed by battle with this card. How's that for you, beginner?"

**Joey - 3000LP Elise - 4900LP **

"Oh wow, She's really packing a punch, and it's only her second turn!" Tea couldn't help but admire Elise's dueling technique; there was something about it that Tea rarely saw in duels, and she had seen enough of them lately.

"Elise's strategy is certainly unusual. She never tributes her monsters to summon stronger ones, and instead focuses on using equip spell cards to strengthen her own monsters. At least, that's what I've gathered from watching her duels on TV," Grandpa spoke up. He'd always had an admiration for Elise's battle style whenever he had seen one of her duels. He could sense that her heart was in her deck, which was why it rarely failed her in a duel.

"So how much chance does Joey actually have?" Tea spoke up uncertainly.

"Hey! I can hear you!" Joey called out angrily. He knew he had to regain some ground, especially since Elise now had a monster with 2000 attack out on the field. He reached out to draw a card from his deck, hoping that it would be something useful for him.

"Alright! Check this out, Elise. I play Panther Warrior (**ATK2000/DEF1600**) in attack mode. Now, my Panther warrior can't attack unless I tribute a monster, so I activate Scapegoat! Now Panther warrior can attack when I tribute one of my goats! What's that you're thinking? My monster still isn't strong enough to destroy your monster? Well think again, because I activate Graceful Dice!" For once, Joey didn't need any luck with this card, even the lowest roll would give his Panther Warrior enough attack points to destroy her Royal Knight.

"Ha! I rolled a 4, giving my Panther Warrior an extra 400 attack points, so now Panther Warrior attack her Royal Knight!"

"Not bad Joey, my monster is destroyed."

**Joey - 3000LP Elise - 4000LP **

"Hey, why did your life points drop 900 points? You should have only lost 400, not that I'm complaining or anything."

"True, I did only lose 400 from battle damage, yet I can give up 500 of my life points to place my Malevolent Nuzzler back onto the top of my deck if it is ever sent to the graveyard," Elise smiled, already forming a plan for her next turn in her mind. Not bothering to look at her drawn card, as she knew what it would be, she instead focused on selecting her next monster to summon.

"Get ready to say good bye to your Panther Warrior, Joey. I summon Schwarzschild Limit Dragon (**ATK2000/DEF0**) in attack mode!"

"Hey, you can't do that! That's a level 8 monster and you didn't tribute to summon it! Everyone knows that!"

"Yes, but not everyone knows my dragon's special ability, it seems. If my opponent has a monster with 2000 or more attack points on the field, I can special summon this card from my hand. I'll also equip my Malevolent Nuzzler, making my Dragons attack points 2700. Now Schwarzschild, attack his Panther Warrior!"

"Nyehhh, My Panther Warrior!"

**Joey - 2300LP Elise - 4000LP **

Elise wanted to laugh; this was so easy. Just as she was about to gloat, she felt light-headed and could hardly see the cards in her hand as her vision blurred. She tried to take a deep breath to get some air, but her chest seemed to tighten, and it felt like a snake was constricting her windpipe. The discomfort had returned in her abdomen, along with an itching sensation on her left hip.

"Hey, is Elise okay? She seems out of it," Tea glanced across to the duelist who seemed to be struggling to stay standing.

"I don't know Tea, maybe we should stop the duel. After all, she wasn't exactly in top condition when we first met her," Grandpa turned to Joey, ready to call out to stop the duel, when Elise shouted out.

"Make your move, Joey!"

Joey, who seemed to have had eyes only for the cards in his hand, grimaced. He didn't know how to get out of this one with the cards in his hand.

"I throw a monster in defence mode and end m-" Before he could finish, Elise cut him off.

"Stop right there! I activate my trap card, Just Desserts! It inflicts 500 points of damage to you for every monster on your side of the field. I make that 4 monsters, inflicting a total of 2000 life points to you!"

**Joey - 300LP Elise - 4000LP **

"Aw man, I'm one attack away from being defeated! Ehh... I end my turn!"

Elise sighed. She needed to be out of here as soon as possible. She could at least breathe now, but her side felt like a hot branding iron was pressing against her skin. She couldn't hold on much longer, she needed to finish him off now.

Drawing her next card, she almost smiled at her luck. Just the card she needed for a quick finish! But, as she moved to insert the spell card into her duel disk, a searing jolt of pain shot through her body, resting in her side. Crying out in pain, Elise fell to her knees, eyes and fists clenched, her cards fluttering to the floor, forgotten. There was only one thing she could think to do to end the match, and her body did it before she could stop herself. Hand hovering over the remainder of her deck, she surrendered. With the duel deck disengaged, she detached it from her arm and slumped to the floor.

"Elise! Elise! ELISE!" She heard shouting, but didn't register it properly. Now the duel was over, she seemed to be more aware of her body, and the only place that was still hurting was the skin on her hip. She stretched her fingers to caress the spot on her hip under her t-shirt, but it felt like a blast of ice, which only aggravated the pain even more. The others had now reached her, and she peered up through a crack in her eyelids.

"Elise, what happened? How can we help?" It was Tea's voice who spoke up first, and she felt a hand press against her forehead.

"She's burning up, I'll call an ambulance."

"No..." Elise groaned. She was already feeling better, and the last place she wanted to be was in the hospital. They always asked way too many questions for her liking.

"But Elise..." Grandpa started, yet when he caught the look of determination on Elise's face, he knew she wouldn't be going to the hospital willingly any time soon.

"Hang on," Tea's voice sounded as the girl seemed to run a few paces away.

When her footsteps returned Elise felt something cold press against her forehead.

"I dampened a spare handkerchief I had. At least accept that if you won't go to the hospital."

"Th- Thank you," Elise wanted nothing more than to take the cool fabric and place it on her hip, but she wasn't prepared to show any more weakness. With this resolve, she forced herself into a seated position and looked around. She noticed Joey had been unusually quiet, and when she found him standing a few paces away, she understood why. He had picked up her fallen hand and was looking at one card in particular, a deep frown forming on his face the more he looked at it.

"You could've won. That turn, you had the card..." Joey muttered, no louder than a whisper.

"Huh, Joey? What are you saying? Elise, did you surrender when you could have won?" Tea was looking between the two.

"That's exactly what happened, Tea. Elise had Ookazi; it inflicts 800 damage to the opponents life points. I only had 300 points left. So, I want to know why. Is it some game you like playing? Messin' with people's minds, or..."

"Joey, stop it! Elise obviously needed the duel to end. Stop being so insensitive," Tea scolded.

"Oh...sorry, Elise, I just got caught up... I mean I just lost to you, big time." Joey knelt down and handed Elise her cards back, "How are you feelin'?"

"Better, thanks." Elise accepted the cards and placed them in her duel disk. She then reached in her back pocket for her locator cards, and then picked one card from her deck. She knew which one was her rarest card, it was the most dog-eared, yet also the one closest to her heart. It pained her more than any physical pain to hand it over, but a deal was a deal.

"Here, your prize."

"No. I don't want them. You won, you should be taking my best card along with the locator cards." Joey shook his head and pushed her hand away from him.

"Hey! I finally found you guys!" A new voice interrupted the silence that had settled between the two duelists. Everyone turned their head, to see a woman's figure waving at them from a car on the road. As they watched, the vehicle came to a halt and the figure stepped out, and began to make her way towards them.

Elise thought she'd seen her somewhere before, and once the woman got a bit closer, Elise could see her left arm was supporting a KaibaCorp Duel Disk.

"Mai! Were you looking for us?" Joey was now standing, waiting to meet with the newcomer. Both Tea and Grandpa seemed to welcome her as well, they obviously all knew each other.

"I've just seen Yugi and the Kaiba brothers heading downtown, they looked like they were in a rush. Yugi shouted something about finding you guys, so I thought I'd look for you too. Oh, who is this?" Mai had now reached the group and spotted Elise's figure on the floor.

"Elise Griffin; meet Mai Valentin-" Joey began.

"Save it, _Joseph_. we've already met. Right, Elise?" Mai winked, "Don't tell me you and Joey just dueled? Tell me you wiped the floor with him, right? Ha!"

"Hey Mai, that ain't fair! And where have you two met before, anyway?"

"Oh, we've competed in several tournaments now. When was the last one, Elise? Paris wasn't it, Hun?"

"Now you're just showing off, Mai. Besides, we have bigger things to deal with right now. Which way was Yug heading? We gotta find him, right Tea?"

"Yeah sure, but what about Elise? We can't leave her..." Tea looked across at Elise who had packed everything away in her backpack, including her duel disk.

"I'm fine, Tea, really," Elise didn't have to lie. The pain had all but left her and she had enough strength to push herself to her feet. Just as long as she didn't do anything strenuous, she was sure this thing... whatever it was, would pass.

"Joey, at least take my locator cards. I.. I don't want to duel any more today, which means I'd never make it to the finals anyway."

"Go on, Joey, you might as well, it's not like you'll win them any other way!" Mai chuckled. She'd missed winding Joey up in the gap between Duelist Kingdom and the start of Battle City.

"Mai..." Joey growled, yet he did accept the cards from Elise all the same.

"Right, now why don't you three," Mai gestured to Joey, Tea and Grandpa, "Go find Yugi, while me and Elise have a much needed catch up session. Besides, Elise and I hardly want to go running round the city, we are girls after all," Mai laughed. "Of course, Tea is as well, but if you hang round with boys, you're expected to act like them, am I right?"

"Okay, deal. We'll catch up with you later. See you, Elise." Joey waved goodbye and started running in the same direction that Yugi and Kaiba had departed earlier.

"Take care, Elise."

"Bye."

Tea and Grandpa started after Joey with a quick wave goodbye.

"Well, that's those wimps taken care of. Come on, Elise. You look as white as a sheet. Oh, and I hope you don't mind fast cars, Hun."

* * *

_Well, here's chapter 2 for you! And, just a heads up, this is going to be a Yami Yugi X OC fic. The more you know :)_

_Thanks for reading._


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey, and welcome to chapter 3! We're glad you're enjoying the fic so far! We thank you for your support, and we hope you stay with us for the upcoming chapters!_

_Anyway, enjoy Chapter 3!_

_~DawnStoneSlifer~_

* * *

"So, you're out of the championship, Hun? Never mind, stick with me and you'll never have a dull moment!" Mai stated at the same time she pushed her foot further down on the accelerator.

"Huh, oh, yeah. Too bad, but there will be plenty more," Elise was resting her head on the back of her chair, gazing up at the sky as the car sped through the city. She had attempted to look out the sides of the car, but the landscape whizzing by only succeeded in making her feel queasy.

"You okay? You don't seem like yourself. Normally you're pissed if you don't get to the finals," Mai took a quick glance at the other girl, taking note of her strange posture. She seemed to be favouring her left side, not letting it rest against the car door or seat.

"Is it like me to surrender a duel? No...Today just...isn't my day," Elise was beginning to think she was in a nightmare, and that she was going to wake up and be able to start the day afresh. Maybe then, Kaiba would stop being such a jerk, she would actually be able to stand up without feeling dizzy, and the pain in her side might actually go away. The dull ache was always there, yet if she tried to touch it, even through her clothing, it would sting and leave a searing pain lingering for a few seconds. Elise just wished she had a slight clue to what was going on with her.

"Do you want to stop for a drink, or something to eat?" Mai suggested, feeling quite hungry herself. Besides, driving aimlessly around the city was only wasting gas.

"Sure. Okay," Elise agreed, wanting to be on solid ground where the buildings didn't whiz past in a blur.

* * *

Five minutes later, Mai and Elise were seated in a cafe, and as Elise inspected the interior, she realised it was the very same one she had dueled Bakura in earlier on. That was when things had started to go downhill, if she remembered rightly.

"Can I have a black coffee, please?" she asked the waiter.

"A vanilla tea please, with cream, not milk. Thanks." Mai smiled, puffing out her chest slightly to catch the waiters attention. A slight blush crept across his cheeks as his eyes dropped their gaze, and Mai winked at him.

"Well that's at least 10% off our bill," she muttered as he stumbled away from their table, only to bump into another table.

"You really must stop that, Mai. It's terrible of you to tease them that way."

"Oh relax, I brighten their day," Mai chuckled.

"...I'm just going to use the little girls room," Elise muttered, getting to her feet.

She made her way across the restaurant, making sure not to bump into any of the tables.

Once in a cubicle, she locked the door, pulled down the lid, and sat down. It was nice to be on her own, even for just a few moments. After a moments silence, Elise steeled herself for what she came to do. She knew it would probably hurt like hell, but she needed to know why her side was in so much pain. Taking off her top completely, Elise was left with a smaller vest top underneath. Hesitantly, she started to peel the fabric away from her hip, clenching her jaw with the motion.

"Holy fuck..." Elise cursed. She had to blink several times to see if her eyes were mistaken.

Where before her skin had been flawless, save for a few freckles, there was now threads of gold, interwoven across her skin. The area just above her hip was where the tangles of threads were most dense, and from there they threaded outward a short way in every direction. It reminded her of roots from a tree, as you couldn't follow one single thread before losing it amongst others. Where the vines reached the edges of the mark, they spaced out, generally stopping about 10cm away from what seemed to be the centre. Her logical mind seemed to think that if she had indeed got this mark today, then the lack of redness around the mark which is normally present around tattoos after a few days of being done, was missing. And, if this mark was to have been burnt onto her skin, there would definitely have been some inflammation or redness. And sure, it felt that way, but the mark seemed to be a perfect imprint on her skin. The longer Elise looked at it, the more she swore it was moving, and there seemed to be a faint glow emanating from the mark. Elise scoffed and swore it was just tiredness making her think that, yet she couldn't blame tiredness on this mark which seemed to have appeared in the last two hours.

Thinking about the pain she had felt earlier, it made sense that she had been left with some kind of brand, but why and how this had happened, she had no idea.

All it confirmed was her wish to wake up from this nightmare and go back to reality.

Choosing to put this aside for now to see what would happen as the day drew on, Elise placed her vest top back over the mark, making sure it wouldn't be visible to anyone. She wasn't ready to tell anyone about this, not yet, probably not ever. Picking up her discarded top, yet not putting it on as she wanted to keep as much pressure off her side as possible, she exited the cubicle, washing her hands as a pretense before going back out into the cafe.

"You hot, Hun?" Mai asked, gesturing to the top in her hand.

"Yeah, it's a nice day; thought I might try get a tan." Elise tried to smile convincingly.

"You get a tan? Ha! That's the best joke I've ever heard!" Mai seemed to burst out into fits of giggles, which suited Elise just fine, as it made sure Mai didn't ask for the real reason she didn't want her top on.

Just as she had placed her top in her backpack, the waiter came back with their drinks. He placed Elise's down first but when he went to place Mai's down he had to bend over to reach the table, which only brought him closer to Mai's 'biggest assets.' Which then promptly made him slip and spill some of the tea onto the saucer. As he bowed in apology and scurried away, Mai only laughed harder than before.

* * *

"That tea was delicious...and the cream cake he brought over as well...oh, and that little chocolate bird was so cute...shame you have to eat it..." Mai's little waiter had kept bringing things over to apologise for his clumsiness earlier, yet Elise was pretty sure that was not the only reason. And of course, Mai plays along, teases them and half an hour later with the bill reduced, she'll walk out, blowing one little kiss behind her. Playing men was her speciality and she enjoyed every moment of it.

"So, I reckon the others should have their Locator Cards by now. Should we go find them?" Mai peered in her mirror to check on Elise's hunched form in the back of the carm the young woman preferring to sit in the back for this next journey. She had been quiet ever since returning from the bathroom.

"Look, do you want to talk about anything?"

"There's nothing to talk about, Mai. I'm just tired, is all. I'll just rest my eyes, if that's okay?" Elise didn't wait for a response. In truth, she wasn't that tired, but she just needed some time to think without interruptions. Her head was in such a screwed up place right now, and she tried desperately to clutch at any piece of information that would give her a clue to what was going on.

It seemed that every time she shut her eyes, the same interweaving gold threads seemed to spread across her vision. By the fifth time of opening her eyes to get rid of the image and closing them again, Elise conceded; keeping her eyes closed and watching the pattern dance across her vision.

* * *

_"So, who is she?" Tristan's voice spoke up from the back seat of the car, where Duke and himself were nestled next to a sleeping girl, her head resting on the inside of the car._

_"A friend. Now, where did you say we were heading? The Docks?"_

* * *

_"Are you sure it's okay to leave her?" Duke was looking uncertainly at the sleeping figure in the car._

_"Look, I've locked the car. No one can get in and she can get out if she wakes up. I'm not waking her, she's been through a lot today... I can tell, even if she won't tell me exactly what's going on. Now, are we going to find Joey and Yugi or not?"_

* * *

Elise woke with a start. She knew she had been asleep, and vaguely remembered coming to several times and hearing faint talking in the background between Mai and some other male voices. Looking round, Elise wondered where everyone had gone. She seemed to be sitting in Mai's car by herself. Stretching her stiff neck, she decided to get out of the cramped car and get some fresh air; luckily Mai had left the spare set of keys inside the car. The last light of the evening was dwindling across the sky, creating a deep purple haze around the clouds in the sky.

"Ahh...fuck. Why is my life so fucking complicated..." Elise couldn't stop her outburst...nor could she stop her fist as it swung against the wall of the parking lot.

"Ow...fuck. Bad idea, Elise," She muttered, shaking her hand slightly. If any situation called for a bad, destructive habit, now would. Elise fetched her backpack and drew out a small tin. She hastily retrieved a long paper roll, and a lighter. Stowing the tin, she put the cigarette to her lips and flicked the lighter on.

"Ahhh..."

She sighed, drawing the smoke through her lips and down into her chest. Most people complained that the smoke burned their throats, but Elise couldn't help but take comfort in the sensation. Ready to let out the puff of smoke, Elise opened her mouth and in one exhale let the smoke escape. She couldn't help feeling disappointed as the smoke came out in a grey cloud.

"Damn... I'll never be able to get it to form a circle..." Elise took another puff, this time drawing it even further into her lungs. She felt her worries start to melt away, as if the smoke was burning them away from her heart. Three more tries later at trying to form a smoke ring, she gave up, flicked the cigarette stub to the floor and crushed it into the ground with her foot. She was tempted to reach for another when she heard voices approaching from an alleyway to the left.

As the figures approached, Elise could spot some of the individuals in the group. Mai was one of them, along with Joey's form coming into view. Next to Joey was Yugi Muto, and the latter two seemed to be soaking wet, though their spirits didn't seem dampened. As the group approached, they spotted Elise, who was glad she had already stubbed out the evidence of her bad habit.

"Hey, sleepy head. You missed out on all the fun." Mai chuckled unlocking the car for the group to start getting in.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, we'll fill you in on the way."

"Where to?" Elise asked, retrieving her bag from the floor and squeezing into the car. As Elise stepped away from where she was standing, the orange cigarette butt was left in clear view. Mai raised an eyebrow at this, yet decided not to challenge Elise at this moment in time. After all, it was the girl's life to do with what she wanted. She had no right in telling the girl how to live.

"The Battle City Finals, of course. Come on, cram in."

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Stay tuned for the next one :)_


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey, everyone. Here's Chapter 4 for you all. Things are really starting to heat up now, huh? Well, it'll only get worse from here, we're afraid. Anyway, enjoy :)_

_~Dawn Stone Slifer~_

* * *

The Battle City Finals were not what they expected. Crowds of spectators, big lights, a fancy dueling arena, not to mention welcoming staff who were happy to help. That was exactly what the duelists didn't find when they entered the Kaiba battle dome. Instead, they got a big empty stadium, a worn patch of grassland occupying the arena, with Kaiba standing in the center, arms folded and a foul look on his face. Mokuba stood next to his brother, a happy smile on his face as he watched the group enter the arena.

"Welcome. Present your Locator Cards," a familiar voice said, causing Elise to glance upwards. In front of the Kaiba brothers, was a middle-aged man with dark green hair. She knew him well. She nodded to him slightly, watching as Kaiba's right-hand man acknowledged her as well.

"Here are your tournament IDs. Congratulations; you three are now officially Battle City Finalists," Roland said, looking away from Elise to Yugi, Joey and Mai.

Elise's gaze moved from Kaiba's employee, to the man himself, and she couldn't help but flinch as she saw the man glaring at her. Sure, she hadn't made the finals, but she didn't think it was that big of a deal. Besides, with the way she was feeling right now, she didn't even want to think about dueling.

But, that still didn't give him the right to treat her the way he had been. They hadn't seen each other in months, and she figured that he'd be a little more...pleased to see her. Then again, happiness was an emotion that Kaiba seemed to struggle with.

Even so, the fact that she had received an invite to the tournament in the first place, meant that he'd at least _thought _about her. That thought was comforting enough, she guessed.

That being said, she still wished he would stop glaring at her like that. She hadn't done anything wrong, last time she'd checked.

A sharp gust of wind snapped her out of her thoughts, and she glanced up, to see a figure walking through the entrance they had walked through moments ago.

She watched as the figure came into view; he was a young man around her age, with platinum blonde hair and tanned skin. She felt a chill run down her spine as she met his light purple gaze, and she looked away, feeling a wave of unease sweep over her. She put it down to her frame of mind however; she'd been through enough today, and meeting new people wasn't the most appealing thought to her in that moment. She'd made enough new 'friends' to last a lifetime.

She'd briefly conversed with Mai's group - she'd call them that, although by the way things looked, the group seemed to centre around Yugi Muto - and had come to the conclusion that they were all nice people. They were a little full on at times, especially Joey and his friend Tristan, but they weren't bad. They reminded her of her friends back at home.

That's probably why they seemed to tire her out so much.

"Hey! That's Bakura!"

Her eyes widened as she heard the familiar name being mentioned, and she glanced towards the entrance, failing to conceal a gasp as the young white-haired man staggered towards them, his eyes hidden. Her eyes locked on the Duel Disk that was attached to his arm, before glancing higher, noticing the bandage wrapped tightly around his upper forearm.

She didn't even need to think. She saw the blood seeping through his bandage, and she felt her legs moving on their own.

"Bakura!" she yelped out as the young man slowed to a stop, wobbling terribly. She saw his body begin to lean forwards, and she reached for him, managing to steady him as he all but collapsed in her arms. She winced as she felt his body brush against her hip, but ignored it for the time being; Bakura was injured, and right now he was her top priority.

"Bakura! Bakura!" she called out, shaking him slightly as Yugi and Joey ran to meet her. Joey helped lift the exhausted boy off of her, and she sent him a thankful glance.

"You should be back at the hospital!"

"Hospital?" Elise whispered, glancing at the man who was beginning to come around, "what do you mean? Why were you in the hospital?"

"He was attacked. Namu found him in an alleyway a few hours ago," Tea said as she joined the group, motioning to the tanned man behind them. Elise glanced back, her uneasiness growing. Something about that guy just didn't seem right to her...

"...I'm fine..." he murmured softly, looking up at everyone. Elise could see the exhaustion in his eyes, mixed with the pain, and she had half a mind to send him straight back to the hospital.

"Wait, what are you doing wearing a Duel Disk?" Yugi asked, a questioning look on his face.

"How else could I have won six Locators Cards, and entered the Finals?"

Elise's eyes widened, and she couldn't stop the grin from forming on her face.

"I told you you could do it, Bakura!" she said with a smile, and he nodded, smiling back at her.

"Well, after our little chat earlier, I felt inspired by you. And now, well, here I am!"

She couldn't stop the pride that swelled within her as he said those words. She was glad that she could inspire someone so much.

"But...shouldn't you be in the hospital, though? I mean, you're injured..." she said, eyeing his wound.

"Oh, it's just a scratch! Really, I'm fine!" he said, letting out a nervous laugh. She gave him a skeptical look, but let it go for the time being. She'd get him alone later and question him more.

"You two know each other?" Yugi's voice piped up, and Bakura nodded.

"We met earlier today, actually. She's a really talented duelist, Yugi. You should look forward to dueling her in the Finals," he said, and she cringed a little. She didn't like to be reminded of the fact that she wasn't going to be competing.

"Er..." Yugi began, before he was silenced by Elise's hand pretty much slapping his face.

"Oh, l-look! There's another Finalist!" she said, pointing towards the opposite entrance.

Yugi's head turned, and once she was sure he was successfully distracted, she tugged Bakura out of Joey's grip, and away from the group slightly.

"Bakura, what happened to you?" she asked, her face serious as she looked him in the eye. He gulped a little, before looking away.

"I'm...I'm not really sure. One minute I was walking down the street, and the next, I was being jumped by...someone."

"You didn't see their face?" She said, gritting her teeth. If she'd gotten a description, she would've been on the lookout...it's not like she'd go looking for trouble, but she sure as hell wouldn't stand there if Bakura's attacker was standing right in front of her...

"Look, Elise...I...I want to apologise...for earlier..."

Bakura's timid voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she raised an eyebrow at him in confusion.

"For earlier?"

"I...I upset you...back at the cafe..."

Her eyes widened as she remembered the conversation they'd had earlier in the day, and her shoulders hunched.

"No, it...it's okay, you didn't...I just...it was a pretty stupid subject to get excited over, really, so..."

"But it wasn't stupid, though. I enjoyed listening to you, hearing your thoughts and opinions. And when you started to ramble, well...it was nice-"

"-Listen, Bakura," Elise cut him off, her jaw tight as she looked him straight in the eye, "it may have been 'nice' and all, but I shouldn't...I can't let myself do that. If I ramble...I end up regretting things. Things that I've done in my past, and how it's made me who I am today because of it. You understand why I don't like remembering...don't you?"

Bakura, at a loss for words at her long-winded explanation, simply nodded. He honestly had no idea why she didn't want to remember, but he understood enough to know that him talking about it would only makes things tougher for her.

"...I understand. I promise not to bring it up any more," he murmured softly, and she sent him a grateful smile.

"Thanks...but hey, enough with all the serious stuff. Congratulations are in order! You got to the Finals!"

"Oh, yes, well...I'm afraid I'm a little nervous...I mean, look at all these duelists! Yugi, Kaiba and you are all extremely talented duelists, and I have no idea about the others. I mean...it's all a bit...intimidating..." he shuddered slightly, before continuing.

"But, if it means I get to duel you again, then I'll gladly enter, Elise!"

"Uh, yeah...about that..." she sighed, shaking her head slowly.

"I'm...not actually in the Finals..."

Bakura's eyes widened, and he gaped at her as she gave him a nervous laugh.

"H-Hey, you can't win them all, right?"

"But...but you...I..." Bakura stared at her, his mouth wide open as he tried to form a coherent sentence.

"I...I just figured that I would...take an audience look at these Finals...I don't really want to duel any more, anyway..."

"Oh? And why's that?" he asked, finally able to speak. His eyes still portrayed the shock he felt, and she shrugged, frowning a little.

"Well...ever since this morning, I've had this-"

"-Alright! Can I have your attention, please?"

Elise paused as she heard Kaiba's henchman yell out, and she turned, watching as he stepped forwards.

"Seven out of eight of you are here. So now it's time to announce, that although your Locator Cards have led you here, this is not the site of the Battle City Finals."

"The actual tournament arena should be arriving here any second now, folks."

Little less than a minute later, and a large shadow fell over the arena. Elise looked up, and her eyes widened as she saw what would be hosting the next series of duels.

"Oh, you have _got _to be kidding me," she muttered under her breath as she saw the huge blimp - the one she'd spotted earlier - descending towards the group.

_This isn't even funny..._ she thought to herself as her and Bakura began to walk towards the steps that led them onto the flying vehicle.

"Excuse me, but I'm afraid you five will have to wait here. You don't have the necessary IDs."

She felt herself being pulled back, and she yelped a little as someone's fingers brushed against her hip, their fingers touching the mark that she had found earlier.

She tugged herself out of Kaiba's security's grasp, glowering at them.

"What the fuck?!" she hissed, "why can't we get on?!"

"I'm sorry, Miss Griffin, but you haven't qualified as a Battle City Finalist. That means, no entry."

"The hell it does!" she snapped, quickly losing her patience. She wasn't too keen on going into the massive blimp that loomed above her, but she sure as hell wasn't going to miss Bakura duelling. She'd grown quite fond of the white-haired boy.

"Please, sir," piped up a timid voice, and Elise turned her head, to see a young girl with strawberry blonde hair - Serenity Wheeler, Joey's younger sister - stepping forwards, "I really want to be there and see my big brother duel...this will be the first time ever..."

"C'mon, man! You can't say no to that!" Tristan yelled, placing his arm around Serenity's shoulder.

"Well...it _is _against the rules..."

"It's fine, Roland. You can bend the rules for them!"

Elise's eyes widened as she heard a familiar voice, and she turned, her face brightening when she spotted the owner of the voice.

"B-But, sir-"

"It doesn't matter! I mean, I'm not a Finalist and I don't have an ID card, but I'm still allowed on!"

"Mokuba's right!" Elise stepped in, walking over to the young boy and placing her hand on his head, ruffling his hair gently.

"...Fine," Roland finally gave in, noting to himself to take up the young woman's behaviour with Kaiba later.

Even after all this time, she was still intent on rule-breaking.

The others boarded the blimp, with Elise and Mokuba lagging behind.

"Thanks, Mokie," she whispered, patting his head gently. He laughed, swatting her hands away.

"No problem. We're all friends here, right?" he responded, "besides, I don't think Seto would be too happy if you didn't come. He's pretty mad about you not making the Finals..."

"Yeah, well, Kaiba can shove it. He's lucky I even turned up to Domino in the first place. I mean, no calls, no emails? And then, just out of the blue, this invitation shows up? Your brother sure has a way with...being an ass.."

She covered his ears, causing him to laugh and swat at her hands again.

"Like I haven't heard worse before. We used to hang out a lot until...well, y'know..."

"That's in the past, Mokie...I know things were left bad, but...you knew as well as I did that it wasn't...going to end any better if I had stayed...besides, it's better this way."

"...Yeah, I guess..." Mokuba murmured, going silent.

"Hey...c'mon now, don't go all serious on me! You're starting to look just like your brother, with that grumpy face of yours!" she laughed a little, tugging on his cheek. He smiled a little, but his eyes were soft, sad.

"...Would that be such a bad thing, though? I mean...I love Seto...just like-"

"-Hey, Elise!"

Elise's head shot up, and she raised an eyebrow as Joey motioned to her.

"We're all going to pick out rooms before the blimp lifts off. You wanna come with?"

She nodded slowly, wanting to at least sit down before the blimp ascended. She had a feeling that her mood was going to decline rapidly once they were in the air.

"Sure."

She glanced down at Mokuba, slowly detaching herself from his cheek.

"Go see your brother, Mokie. And tell him I said hi, okay?"

"But...don't you need someone with-"

"I said go see your brother, Mokie," her voice rose, knowing what he was going to say. She didn't want to hear it. Not from him.

He nodded quickly, wasting no time in dashing away from her and past Joey and the others.

"...The kid looked terrified, hun. What did you do to him?" Mai asked, raising an eyebrow as Elise joined the group, a scowl now plastered on her face.

"Nothing. He just reminded me of something that I'd rather forget..."


	5. Chapter 5

_Hey, everyone. It's been a while, huh? This chapter was written a while ago, but since things are a little difficult for us both in terms of updating, I've been delaying uploading it. But, here it is, so we hope you enjoy!_

_~Dawn Stone Slifer~_

* * *

"Wow, Joey, look at this room!"

"Being your friend isn't too bad after all."

"Nice, you got a fridge, and it's stocked with food!"

"Guys, what are you doing here?" Joey gritted his teeth as his friends swarmed into his room. He looked over at Serenity, who seemed happy to greet them into his room, choosing to help Duke look in the fridge for something to eat.

"We need a place to stay, so we thought we could hang out here," Téa replied as she settled down in one of the arm chairs.

"But guys, I need to focus! Go bother someone else," Joey desperately tried to push Tristan towards the door, but to no avail.

* * *

"So Joey, are you making any changes to your deck before the quarter finals start?" Elise looked over her mug of tea, eyeing a slightly panicked blonde as he searched the mess of cards strewn across the table in front of him. Joey didn't look up as he replied.

"Yeah, without my Red-Eyes I need to find some powerful combos to give me a chance against a duelist like Kaiba."

"Heh, good luck with that. You'll need a miracle to beat Kaiba."

Elise chuckled, thinking about how over-powered Kaiba's deck was. Not to mention his smirk seemed even more smug, if that was even possible.

Wondering what hidden strategies Kaiba had planned within his deck, she nearly missed Joey's irritated glare aimed her way.

"What? It's true. Kaiba's been dueling a lot longer than you have, plus he has the money to buy more powerful cards," Elise shrugged, draining the rest of her drink.

"Enough of that talk. Money doesn't buy everything, and Kaiba's ego holds him back, anyway. I'll win with pure skill and by trusting in the Heart of the Cards!"

Joey was standing up now, clenching a few cards in his hand. Elise could tell she had touched a nerve, but all she had been doing was admitting the truth. She had seen first-hand Joey's duelling style, and the only reason he bested her was...well, she'd surrendered, so it wasn't like he'd actually won, anyway...not properly...

"Believe what you want. But if you face Kaiba, don't expect to win."

"Elise, you should have more faith in Joey. After all, he reached the finals in Duelist Kindgom, and he's made it this far," Tristan was standing behind Joey, giving him a one armed hug while ruffling his friend's hair.

"Nyeh, get off, Tristan!" Joey escaped from Tristan's reach and sat back down on the sofa, returning to scrutinising the cards in front of him.

"Hey guys, you should see this view, it's beautiful!" Serenity called out from near one of the blimp's windows, currently looking out across Domino's city landscape.

"Wow, Serenity! You're right! It's beautiful, but of course, not as much as you are," Tristan had made his way across to Serenity. Joey was too consumed by his cards to notice his friend's obvious flirtatious remarks aimed at his sister, which Elise was sure Joey wouldn't appreciate.

"Big brother! Come look at this, you don't know when you'll see this again! You too, Elise!"

Elise looked up at the mention of her name.

"Nah. I'm good, thanks," Elise shuffled further into her seat as if to make her point.

"But..."

"Honestly. It's nothing I haven't seen before. There's better sights than of this dreary city."

Elise looked up at Serenity from her place across the room. She could see a look of hurt cross the younger girl's face at the insult to the city. Why she cared if Elise thought the city was beautiful or not puzzled her, but then young girls were often easily offended.

"Hey, don't take that tone towards my sister! She didn't do nothin' wrong!" Joey had unfortunately caught the tail end of that conversation.

"I just don't see the appeal in looking at a few buildings. What's wrong with that?"

"Your attitude, that's what! We're all friends here, and friends don't talk down to each other like that!" Joey had abandoned his cards, to glare across at Elise.

The others in the room stood uncomfortably, waiting to see what would come of the situation.

"Well, isn't it nice to be all buddy buddy with each other! What, your love for each other carries you through every duel and tells you how to win? That's just pathetic!" Elise found herself laughing bitterly.

"You sound just like Mai when we first met her. Now look, we showed her how much friends can mean to you! If you like being a loner then maybe you'd like to leave, then?! Leave us to be 'buddy buddy'..."

Joey had advanced toward Elise.

"Your attitude is worse than Kaiba's! And what; one minute you want to hang with us, but the next, you're insulting us?! Your social skills are amazing, Elise!"

"Seto's-"

She stopped herself short, realising that dragging other people into the argument wouldn't help her at all. Besides, mentioning Kaiba only seemed to rile the blonde up more.

"Right now, you're acting just like that pompous, ego-obsessed jerk! I'm actually starting to think you might be related to him...and what, he's 'Seto' now?! Hah! Let me tell you somethin'; a Kaiba's a Kaiba, and that's all they'll ever be!"

"Joey, maybe you should calm down," Serenity's voice was quiet, reserved. She didn't like hearing her brother get angry.

Elise remained silent, sinking deeper into her chair as she glared at the empty mug on the table in front of her.

"What, no comment? Yeah, I was right. You're just like him. I was stupid not to notice it earlier. Coming from _that_ kind of family must have it privileges, huh?"

That made her flinch. _That _kind of family? Just what the hell did he mean by that?

"...You don't know the first thing about my family, Wheeler..." She muttered, wincing slightly as her side began to ache.

"I know enough. Elise Griffin, perfect child, perfect family. No arguments or fights, whatsoever. It must be nice being from that kind of fake-ass family!"

"Joey," Tèa shook her head at him angrily.

"Fake?" Elise let out a bitter chuckle, "you think my family life is fake?"

"Living life ignoring all of the arguments and troubles your family has seems pretty fake to me!"

"...Like I said, you don't know the first thing about my family. You have no idea..."

"Then educate us, Elise! Tell us what it's like to be a sheltered, ignorant, _perfect _child!"

Elise stood, frowning deeply. The now burning sensation in her side was distracting her from snapping back at Joey. She was watching his form carefully, but she was beginning to lose focus. She slowly placed a hand on her hip to try and dull the pain. Figuring that the argument had just caused her to get wound up, Elise turned on Joey and the others - everyone was looking at her, she could feel their gazes burning into her back - and walked out of the door without another word.

* * *

The moment the door had slid shut behind her, it was like a weight had landed on her. Leaning against the wall for support, she made her way down the hall, meaning to go find a room to sit in. A few steps down the hall however, and she decided that leaning against the wall would have to do for now. The pain in her side was making walking uncomfortable.

"Oh jeez, Elise, what was that?" She muttered to herself. Had she really just been a total jackass to everyone, just because she felt jealousy towards the idea of having friends and family to look out for you? It wasn't as if she didn't have friends. Elise pulled her phone out of her back pocket, flipped it open and began to search through her favourited contacts until she found a familiar name.

'Jaemie.'

Satisfied that she had reassured herself, Elise made to close her phone and put it away. But not before one other contact name caught her attention.

"Dad..." She murmured. Her finger automatically hovered over the green button, tempting her to call the highlighted contact.

Before Elise could decide whether to either press the button or put her phone away, the front of her phone snapped down, shielding the screen from her view. Surprised, Elise looked up, meeting the gaze of two familiar, cold blue eyes.

"Just as I thought. Didn't think it would take you long to go running home."

The first words he'd spoken to her since they'd met at the tournament, and they were snarky as hell. She didn't know whether to feel pissed or disappointed.

"Shut it, Kaiba. I wasn't going to call it..." Elise spat through gritted teeth, more angry at her moment of weakness than Kaiba's curt remark towards her.

"Sure, you keep telling yourself that. But next time, when I'm not here to save you, try reminding yourself of the last time you called home." Kaiba made to walk down the hallway. Elise pushed herself off the wall, ignoring the now dull ache in her side.

"You have no right to judge me, Kaiba!"

"Don't I? You know, I invited you to this tournament with the full intention of being able to duel you in the finals. But you disappoint me. I mean, losing to Wheeler? How weak of you. I don't know why I bothered to custom-make you a duel disk."

Kaiba turned, his form looming over her. She'd forgotten how tall the young man was.

"I didn't lose...You don't know the circumstances, Kaiba. And I'll take you any day, I don't need to duel you in a tournament to prove my skill."

She found herself straightening her posture, trying to make herself look more intimidating. She'd been a victim of Kaiba's intimidation tactics before, and she wasn't going to put up with it.

"Oh yes, you surrendered when you had a winning combination as well. I consider that just as weak as losing. Never sacrifice a duel for anything, Elise. I've said that before."

"Why don't you just drop it, Kaiba? It's none of your business!" Elise turned to walk away, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She tried to shrug it off, but not before Kaiba spun her round to face him.

"No. I want to know why you surrendered."

His face was closer, and his deep blue eyes stared straight into her own, unnerving her slightly.

"Shove off, Kaiba!" Elise made to push Kaiba away from herself, wanting to instead find a quiet space to herself. Her side was beginning to throb painfully, and she'd be damned if she'd show weakness in front of the young CEO again.

His hands squeezed her shoulders slightly, and she gulped hard, her mind in too much of a daze to focus on anywhere but his eyes. She was still struggling, but she couldn't bring herself to look away from those bright blue irises.

But just as she pushed against his chest, a large tremor shot through the blimp, and the whole corridor tilted at an alarming angle. Before she knew what was happening, Elise found herself being thrown to the side, and where she expected to hit a wall, she found herself falling through an archway into a room.

While the Blimp regained it's correct alignment, Elise felt her leg give way beneath her, and she fell forwards. She heard an almighty crack, and pain shot through her skull. Her body landed hard against the floor, and through her blurry, fading vision, she could faintly see a body kneeling in front of her, their hands reaching for her. And then, nothing.

* * *

At first, all Yami could feel was concern. He didn't know why Elise has stumbled into Yugi's room, nor why her face had looked so panicked, but when she had fallen and slammed her head hard against the table, all questions had flown out of his mind. She was injured, and that was all that mattered.

He reached for the girl, pulling her into his arms as he called out her name over and over again. She was breathing, which was a relief, but she had cut her head open on the table. Her blood was already soaking her hair and face.

That's when he felt the other presence.

He glanced up, and his eyes widened. Kaiba stood in the doorway, his face portraying the same shock he'd shown moments ago.

That concern morphed into anger, and he glared at the man.

"What did you do, Kaiba?!" He yelled, leaning down and pressing Yugi's jacket sleeve - he'd have to apologise to Yugi later and wash it, providing he could figure out how to work the washing machine - against her wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

The CEO glared back, refusing to speak as he looked at the bleeding woman in Yami's arms.

"Kaiba!" Yami practically snarled at the man, and he could feel Yugi's presence near him, trying to calm him.

"I didn't do that," he motioned to her wound, "that was her own fault."

"You expect me to believe that?!" Yami yelled, pressing harder against her wound and recoiling as Elise let out a weak cry of pain.

"Believe what you want, Yugi. I didn't push her into your room. She did that of her own accord."

Kaiba slowly walked up to the young Pharaoh, and without another word, he picked up the bleeding girl in his arms.

"Kaiba," Yami warned angrily, clenching his fists as he jostled her a bit in his arms.

"Relax, Yugi. You can have her back in a minute," Kaiba muttered, walking over to Yugi's bed and slowly placing her down on it. He glanced at her head, taking in the damage silently, before his gaze travelled to her left arm, the arm covered in tattoos. His gaze lingered on her now exposed hip, and he raised an eyebrow questionably.

"...That's a new one..."

His fingers grazed along the soft skin of her hip, tracing the pattern that now adorned it gently. She winced slightly, letting out a small moan of discomfort, and shuffled away from his fingers. He pulled back, clicking his tongue as he fell back into thought, before he stood up straight, and made his way towards the door.

"Kaiba!" Yami hissed, not truly believing what he was seeing. It was pretty obvious that he'd been the cause of Elise's injuries, and now he was just...leaving her here?

"Take care of it, Yugi," he muttered, and with that he was gone, out of the door.

Yami stood, completely dumbfounded and fuming. How could he? He'd known Kaiba to do a lot of selfish things, but leaving an injured young woman lying on his bed covered in blood was by far the worst thing yet.

"_Yami, is she...?"_

The young Pharaoh turned, noticing Yugi floating beside him, his eyes darting around nervously. He knew how much his lighter half hated blood, so it wasn't surprising that he was trying to avoid looking at her.

"I don't know. She hit her head pretty hard," he responded, seating himself on the edge of the bed in order to get a better look at her injury. It seemed to have stopped bleeding at least, but there was still a fair amount of quickly drying blood coating her forehead and hair. Yami reached out and brushed a few sticky strands of hair from her face.

_"That's a lot of blood...what should we do?" _

Yami noticed his partner's discomfort and glanced around the room. There was a pool of blood on the floor near the table, some flecks from where Kaiba had carried her to the bed. Yami looked down at his hands, and grimaced as he noticed how much blood was currently drying on his skin.

"Let's focus on getting Elise sorted first," Yami decided, making his way into the bathroom, "we'll sort the rest of the blood out later..."

"R-Right. Okay," Yugi said, nodding a little as he followed his other half into the bathroom.

Yami quickly turned on the bathroom sink, allowing boiling hot water to spill from the faucet. He dipped his hands under the water, wincing at the initial twinge of scolding pain he felt, before he pulled rinsed his hands thoroughly. This was Yugi's body, after all, and he knew that if any blood was left on the young boy, he would panic. He'd been with him long enough to know how his partner reacted.

Deciding that his hands were clean enough, he splashed water on the tap, rinsing away the leftover blood haphazardly, before drying his hands with a towel. His palms were red raw from the heat, but he'd have to deal with it later.

He began to rummage through the cupboards, trying to find a cloth or something he could use to clean Elise's wound. His eyes locked on a small green box in the back of one of the cupboards, and he grabbed it, setting it down on the counter and opening it.

"Yugi, what should I...?"

Yami turned, his eyes widening when he noticed that the boy had disappeared. He sighed a little, before going back to looking in the first-aid kit; he must've retreated to his soul room. Seeing the blood washing off must've made him more than a little queasy.

Still unsure of what to take, Yami settled for closing the box and grabbing a cloth that sat in a pile in the cupboard. He dripped warm water on it, soaking it thoroughly, before rushing back into the room, first-aid kit and cloth in hand.

He wasted no time in slumping down on the bed beside her, taking in the wound with a calculating glance, before reaching out and gently dabbing the cloth against her forehead. Her initial reaction, in her unconscious state, was to struggle, but Yami was prepared; his other hand held her body as still as he could while he continued to clean her head.

He winced as the wound itself became clear; a large gash was now evident on her skin, mostly in her hairline, although the wound ended just past it. He guessed it would leave a pretty nasty scar.

Satisfied that the wound itself was clean and wasn't going to get worse, Yami opened the first-aid kit, rummaging through it before pulling out a large linen wrap. He unravelled it, unsure on how much to use, before settling with all of it. Tending to people's wounds had never been a strong point of his. He didn't even know where to start wrapping.

The task of wrapping her wound was a difficult one. The bandage was difficult to apply and kept slipping from her skin, and at one point, Yami even found himself wrapping his own hand with her wound. His patience was wearing thin, and he honestly felt like throwing the bandage across the room.

"Ah, Mr. Muto, is Elise Griffin in here?"

Yami's head shot round, and he stared at the form of a young man who stood in the doorway to his room, looking around him.

"Yes, she...here..." he murmured, moving to the side to show him the young woman. His eyes widened, and he jogged over, reaching down and examining the now visible wound. Yami found himself clenching his jaw, and he leaned forwards, watching as the young doctor touched her forehead softly, before pulling back.

"Well, Mr. Kaiba was right about one thing. She did take quite a knock to the head."

Yami's eyes widened. Kaiba? So, Kaiba sent this man?

The doctor glanced down, noticing the bandages that were piled around the woman, before he picked them up, and began to wrap her head properly. In a matter of moments, she was bandaged, and Yami couldn't help but be impressed.

"Hm...I think it would be best to leave her here for now; she may have a slight concussion, so moving her to the medical bay might do more harm than good...is that alright, Mr. Muto?"

"Yes, uh...will she...will she be alright? Without anyone here, I mean?"

"I'll stay here and monitor her until I'm sure she's stable. Don't worry. She's in good hands."

Yami breathed a sigh of relief, before nodding, and getting to his feet. He gave himself a quick once over; he hadn't realised, but most of the blood from the jacket had washed out when he'd cleaned his hands. Well, at least that was one less thing that Yugi had to worry about.

With a deep inhale of breath, Yami turned back to Elise, watching her silently. He couldn't help but think that she looked almost...peaceful laying there. Although, he was sure it was the opposite; the panicked expression on her face when she had fallen into his room earlier had confirmed that for him.

He'd deal with that later. Right now, he had a tournament to win.


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey, everyone. Dawn Stone Slifer and NineTailedJay here, updating together for the first time. Sorry for the long wait, but we hope this chapter makes up for it!_

_We hope you enjoy this chapter._

_~Dawn Stone Slifer &amp; NineTailedJay~_

* * *

"Wow those were…intense duels…?"

Distorted sounds reached her ears, although it was hard to catch what was being said over the buzzing. Unsure whether the buzzing was coming from inside her head or from the room, Elise had no choice but to lay listening to the conversation.

"Yes, they were."

A deeper voice sounded, that much she could tell. However, her eyes were adamantly remaining shut, so she had no hope to identify the second voice any further.

"But poor…and Mai…What game is he playing…Bakura…"

Fairly sure that Yugi was in the room, Elise felt as if she should try and stir awake. Moreover, she felt uncomfortable listening in on Yugi's conversation.

"Marik isn't the only one playing by his own rules…Kaiba isn't much better."

Kaiba was playing by his own rules? What was that supposed to mean - although Elise wasn't privy to Kaiba's self-absorbed nature. Speaking of, a hazy memory surfaced to the forefront of her mind. She recalled the sensation of the floor tipping underneath her, and the rush of air, before almighty pain as her head collided against a solid object. But she also seemed to recall strong arms encircling her body, light touches across her waist and an uncertain pressure against her temple. She was unsure which of these contacts caused her more discomfort. Deciding that she had laid still too long, wallowing in memories, Elise made another conscious effort to rouse herself.

"Hm? Oh, Elise…"

Yami turned from the window at the sound of Elise rousing. She lifted herself up on her elbows, peering through half open eyes at her surroundings. Not wishing to startle her, Yami chose to remain by the window, ready to act if she began to panic at the unfamiliar room. But instead, she seemed to sit up, adjust her hair into a neater ponytail as best she could under the bandages, and straightened her shirt. Then her gaze traveled around the room once again, resting upon Yami.

"Where is the other person?" Elise asked, puzzled when she failed to spot the owner of the second voice. Yami's eyes widened in surprise at her question; not only because he could have thought of more pressing questions that she could have asked, but also at the nature of the question itself.

"Uh...there is no one else here, just you and I."

This was the best response he could think of on the spot. He knew he had been speaking out loud to his other self, but he was pretty sure no one would have been able to hear Yugi's spirit speak. At the thought of Yugi, Yami glanced around at the room in the hope to spot his spirit form for some support, but he couldn't see any sign.

"I was sure I heard two voices..." Elise glanced around the room again, her eyebrows knitted together in puzzlement.

"Oh…I was just talking to myself, it calms me down during tournaments. I'm sorry for disturbing your sleep. And anyway, how are you feeling?" Anxious to get off the topic, Yami quickly tried to put the attention on Elise instead. He was relieved when she seemed to let it go, her face relaxing and a small smile crossed her lips.

"Tired. And my head feels heavy as hell. What happened to me, exactly?" she asked, taking the time to press her weight onto her tattoo-covered arm and touch the lining of the bandage adorning her head. She pressed against the fabric slightly, wincing a little and letting out a small hiss of discomfort as her wound throbbed.

Yami's first reaction was to rush to her aid, and he wasted no time in guiding her hand away from her forehead as he sat down beside her, resting his hand on her knee. She flinched slightly, but didn't make any attempt to move his hand away.

"There was...a slight turbulence on the blimp a while ago...everything tilted, and you fell into my room and hit your head on the table. You knocked yourself out."

"I...oh yeah, I guess I _did _fall pretty hard...but why was I…"

Elise's voice trailed off into silence as the memories of her encounter with Kaiba hit her, and she gritted her teeth in annoyance.

"Elise? Is everything alright?"

"...Kaiba. That jerk-off…" she muttered, biting the sides of her mouth as she tapped her fingers against the mattress irritably.

"...I'm sorry?" he responded quietly, unsure of how to handle the young woman's anger. Although, he guessed that her getting agitated really wasn't going to help her right now, especially with her injured. Out of sheer habit, he turned to look behind him, searching for Yugi to guide him. But, noticing that the young man was nowhere in sight, he gathered his thoughts and worries as best as he could, and tried to come up with something to say.

"...Where am I, anyway?" She looked around her, taking in her surroundings, "your room still, I'm guessing?"

"Yes. The paramedics thought it wise to leave you in here, at least until they'd finished moving Mai and-"

"-Whoa, whoa, hold on a minute...Mai?" Elise's voice had raised slightly due to her shock, and Yami could do nothing but nod silently.

"What...what happened to Mai, Yugi?" she asked, her voice quiet as she looked at her hands that had now settled in her lap.

"I...she…" Yami opened his mouth to explain, but when he went to speak, the words got caught in his throat. His mind was in turmoil after seeing the panic growing on Elise's face, and he went silent, unable to tell her the words that she was so desperately wanting to hear.

"Ah, Mr. Muto! I see your patient is awake!"

Elise and Yami's heads shot in the direction of the new voice, and found that a man in a white coat was standing in the doorway, a smile on his face.

Yami found himself retracting his hand from her knee, and wasted no time in getting to his feet, making room for the doctor to see to the young woman.

"How are you feeling, Miss. Griffin? Are your injuries treating you well?" he stopped in front of the clearly startled woman, glancing at her head, "I see Mr. Muto hasn't attempted to re-dress your head. Probably for the best, if I'm honest. You'd look like a mummy if I let him bandage you." The man chuckled, glancing in Yami's direction. At this, Yami cleared his throat, looking away as he felt Elise's gaze settle on him.

"...What happened to Mai?" she asked again, this time addressing the doctor in front of her. In response, he huffed out a large sigh, scratching his head.

"...We're not sure. We've deduced that it _is _some kind of coma, although neither of our patients have responded to any medical treatment as of yet."

"Wait...other patients? What other patients?" Elise's voice had risen again, and Yami found himself inching closer, wanting nothing more than to comfort her.

"Well, Miss. Mai Valentine was the first to be sent to the medical ward, and just a couple of hours ago, a Mr. Ryo Bakura was sent there with the exact same symptoms."

Elise felt her blood run cold as the familiar name reached her ears, and she inhaled sharply.

Bakura. Bakura was hurt.

Without even pausing to think about her own injuries, Elise darted out of bed, staggering a little at first, but soon gathering her bearings and dashing out of the door, ignoring the frantic cries of both Yami and the doctor.

_Don't let it be true. Please, God, don't let it be true._

* * *

Though her mind hated every tear that tumbled down her cheek, and every whimper that escaped her throat, Elise could only sit hunched over, grasping at Mai's cold hand for some feeling of comfort. She felt like someone else was in her body; someone else was thinking the weak, niggling thoughts that caused her chest to constrict and her heart to beat rapidly. What was worse was the constant throbbing in her side, like a thorn had settled deep into her skin and had taken root, causing discomfort with the slightest movement. Yet laying motionless didn't seem to ease the dull ache either; nor had soothing gel, a cold or hot press, or pain medication - which the Doctor had reluctantly given her, even with her pleas about it being her head injury causing her pain.

"Ah, fuck," Elise exclaimed, "How can I be so fucking senseless? I'm complaining about an ache, a minor head wound and the fucking lack of being able to have a cigarette, and Mai and Bakura are sitting...right here, motionless…as if…as if…"

Even in her outburst, Elise didn't want to think about the worst case scenario. The doctors had said that all all life signs were stable; it was as if they were merely asleep. If you listened to Yugi and Joey however, it seemed that their consciousnesses had been transported to another realm. Elise had been keen to block out the latter theory, choosing to listen to the doctor's reassurances that the pair would wake up in their own time. Not only did this seem like the more logical explanation, but also there were two other reasons why she favoured the doctor's explanation.

Firstly, it was bad enough to see Mai and Bakura laying dead to the world, but to think that they could actually be undergoing certain forms of torture set by Marik, in a world akin to hell was unthinkable, and only emphasised Elise's feeling of helplessness. And the second reason was far more selfish. If she admitted that there was something in this world similar to magic powers, then she could no longer ignore the golden web adorning her hip.

Another sob escaped into the air.

The past few days had been a rush of energy and excitement, which made the events slightly hazy and hard to distinguish, but this only aided Elise's opinion that one morning she would wake up, find that the past few days had been a horrific, messed up nightmare; the kind you get after eating cheese late at night while watching a horror movie, to find that actually she had never surrendered that duel, hadn't bashed her head on a table and neither Mai nor Bakura were comatose with a possibility of being trapped in hell.

Her desperation to ignore what was happening to her had resulted in her gaze never falling to her waist, her shirt to be constantly tucked in her jeans to prevent it riding up, and that any mirror placed around the blimp was duefully ignored. Albeit this had resulted in her lack of makeup, which she was pretty sure only emphasised the slight bags forming under her eyes. And what a sight she must look now; red puffy eyes, tear stained cheeks and cracked lips.

Another few sobs, and her breathing turned shallow as she realised she could no longer hold in what she longed to bottle up. Then her gaze fell upon Bakura's bed, with his thin outline and pale arms highlighted by the shaft of moonlight that fell across his bed. It couldn't be a more serene picture, yet the lack of rise and fall in his chest only made hers seem to work harder to make up for it.

Rubbing her eyes with the heel of her hand, Elise decided to succumb to the soothing chaos that her body could cocoon her in. It felt so comforting that Elise could imagine it's arms encircling her, lifting her off the bed to rest against the cool, solid edge of tranquility. She could even imagine it working through her hair, caressing her scalp, and sending little shivers down her spine.

After a while, Elise noticed that the sobbing had subsided, the room now filled with slow breaths, broken only by the occasional sniffle. Her eyes, having shut earlier, felt heavier than ever, and her brain happily gave in to the warm darkness that enveloped her.

* * *

When he was sure she was asleep, Yami slid off the bed, cradling Elise to his chest and walked to the spare bed in the corner of the room. He slipped Elise under the covers and made to leave, but a quiet groan from the sleeping woman made him change his mind. As he settled down next to her, her head already finding comfort once again on his chest, Yami sighed, and realised he would probably do anything to relieve her problems, even if she never confided them in him.

After all, she'd become closely knitted into this little ragtag group of friends he and his partner had, even if she refused to believe it herself.

* * *

_And there we go! We hope you enjoyed Chapter 6! Stay tuned for more!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Hey, everyone, Dawn Stone Slifer &amp; NineTailedJay here, bringing you Chapter 7! This one is a bit long and tedious, but we thought it best to just get the rest of Battle City out of the way, instead of splitting it into two chapters. Now we can get onto the really good stuff! So, without further ado, we give you Chapter 7! We hope you enjoy!_

_~NineTailedJay &amp; Dawn Stone Slifer~_

* * *

The sun beat down on the rag tag group of individuals making their way towards the looming tower which dominated the landscape. Most were relieved to be kissed by the sun's rays after being submerged within hell itself the previous night; the warm glow seemed to evaporate any tendril wisp of the Shadow Realm lingering in the air.

However, Elise was desperately trying to keep her head down, squinting through her eyes to try and dilute the harsh glare from the sun and any surface that it hit. The blimp had landed only moments before, and while they had all departed in relatively high spirits (minus her, of course), she couldn't help but be wary of the large tower that loomed over them all, it's presence sending chills through her and making her want to go back. Walking several paces behind everyone else and keeping quiet was all she could do to try and remain inconspicuous to everyone else, who were all currently chatting about the Battle City finals, and the duels yet to come. Elise had no intention of joining in on these conversations, although in some parallel universe, she would have been the one making the most jokes, sporting her Duel Disk on her right arm and baiting her opponents. In that universe, Mai and Bakura would be with them also, Mai swinging her hips tauntingly in front of Joey as she tossed her hair over her shoulder and gave that tell tale wink of hers. Bakura would have been walking towards the back, not unlike herself at the moment, as he seemed uncomfortable in the spot light.

"Actually showing our face today, are we? Well, I suppose you don't want to miss an opportunity to see me duel, now that you realise how good I am."

Elise was snapped from her thoughts by a harsh voice calling her way. She raised her head to spot Joey Wheeler, walking backwards a few paces in front of her. He had his hands in his pockets, and a large grin on his face, which all suggested he was up for an argument. Too bad she didn't feel like humouring the blonde right now.

When he failed to get a reply, Joey continued.

"Cat got your tongue, or did the knock to the head make you forget how to talk?" He tapped his knuckles against the top of his head several times. The group had stopped walking, all except Kaiba, Mokuba and Marik, who continued to stride towards their destination as if nothing was happening.

"Joey," A warning growl emitted from behind Elise, but she didn't have to spin around to know who it belonged to. She knew Joey and Yugi were best friends, and for Yugi to need to stand up against his best friend, only showed her how weak she must appear to the group.

Weakness was the root of all evil, it was the cracks in foundations, the poison in water.

"Wheeler, I will never call you a good duelist because - and I'll put this in terms that even _your_ tiny brain can understand - you're not good at it...I reckon even a monkey could best you in a duel. In fact, it would be so easy for it to beat you, that the monkey wouldn't even earn a banana for the effort. What's more, you have not only an ego to match Kaiba's, but one that isn't founded on any basis of truth. I believe it's powered by your delusional enthusiasm."

Elise took a moment to catch her breath. Without her realising, it was as if a switch had flicked on in her head; her posture upright, shoulders back, feet apart for stability and a glower that could rival Kaiba's, not to mention a tongue just as sharp.

Joey opened his mouth, and then shut it before opening it once more.

"Wow, Wheeler. That hamster is turning its wheel so fast in your head I think I can see smoke…oh wait, that's just your remaining brain cells evaporating in the sun, my bad."

Elise let out a uncharacteristic chuckle which was pitched a few tones above her comfort zone, but she went with it anyway. Waving her hand mockingly at Joey, she sidestepped round him, nudging his shoulder as she passed. Leaving the silent group in her wake, Elise stalked past Kaiba who seemed to have taken some interest in the argument at some point. She gave him a dark smirk as she walked by, but didn't cease her stride until she was in the shadow of the tower, and a long way away from the dumbfounded group.

She had to admit, it was good to be back, even if it was just for those few, triumphant moments.

* * *

She couldn't stay.

The thought kept repeating itself in her head over and over again as she stalked away from the tower, pausing momentarily to loosen her shirt slightly. Her body felt hot, almost uncomfortably so, and that horrible ache had settled back into her hip.

She didn't know what was going on, but she knew she wasn't going to get better standing around watching those guys duel. There was only so much stupidity from Joey she could take, after all. Besides, that Marik guy was creepy.

It would be better if she distanced herself from the tower that was causing the horrible uneasy feeling in her gut and the dizziness.

She wasn't going to bring it up, but she was pretty sure that Kaiba had picked this place for the finals just to spite her.

_Not that I don't deserve it,_ she thought bitterly to herself as she stumbled - her leg muscles were akin to jelly at this point - towards the blimp, intending to settle herself in her room and wait the rest of this tournament out by herself.

She paused mid-step, however, when an image popped into her head. A single, simple image, that caused a chill to run down her spine and her body to break out in a cold sweat.

She couldn't go back. Mai and Bakura were still there, still laying unconscious in the medical bay, completely comatose…

She didn't want to think about it, but she couldn't stop herself from thinking about if they never woke up.

She could feel her eyes burning, and she cursed herself, gaining enough control back in her legs to push herself away from the blimp, instead moving towards the edge of the island.

She wouldn't go back. She couldn't bear to see her friends like that. She _couldn't._

She soon found herself at the edge of the island; the rocky ground in front of her almost dissolving into the ocean. She felt herself sliding down to her knees, and she simply stared ahead, trying to focus on one particular spot on the horizon. Of course, the task proved quite difficult; how could she focus when there was nothing to focus on?

If there was a landmark or something, she would've been fine. She would've felt more secure...more grounded.

But there was nothing. Just a mass of blue that stretched out in front of her for miles without end. The blandness of it made her uneasy.

Of course, it was better than looking behind her, back at that tower. The place that seemed to hold all her anxiety and worries at it's core.

She settled with looking down at the debris-covered ground in front of her, staring at the different sized stones that lay there. With a sudden tenderness that didn't quite suit the headstrong girl, she picked up a fairly large stone and, with a deep inhalation of breath, she threw it out into the ocean. It landed with a large splash, and she wasted no time in picking up another and throwing it, aiming to get it further.

The throwing soon turned to skimming, and she'd managed to seat herself in a more comfortable position on the ground as she flicked the stones across the water's surface, watching as they skimmed the liquid a few times, before slipping into the depths.

She wasn't going to lie, the feeling was amazing. The harder she threw, the fastest she flicked her wrist, the more she felt like she was throwing away...a part of herself. The weak part; the part of her that had caused her to break down when she'd seen Mai and Bakura in those hospital beds.

She prided herself on being a strong woman. Everybody who knew her well enough understood that. She'd been through too much in her short life, and was forced to grow up quicker than most. They understood that, because of this, she was often quick to annoy, and was sometimes quite cynical.

But that was the way she was. She wasn't going to change herself for anybody. If she admitted to herself that her attitude needed rearranging, then it would be like admitting weakness to herself. And that was something she _couldn't _do.

Weakness was the root of all evil, it was the cracks in foundations, the poison in water.

Who had told her that? She knew it was someone important, someone who meant a lot to her at some point, and probably still did. Her mind was hazy, but she remembered a faint memory; light blue sheets, a bare chest, and arms wrapped around her almost possessively. A thin, sincere smile, something that was rare to see - she cherished every moment she got to see it - and those long fingers brushing through her hair; usually pinned up in a ponytail, but in that moment, free to lay sprawled out around her.

Things were so nice back then. Things hadn't been simple, not by a long shot, but they were nice, comfortable. She had little to worry about in terms of friendship or love; she was content in both, and she had found herself quite happy to live out the years exactly the way she was.

Funny how things changed.

She'd been expecting it. All along, she'd been expecting it. But she'd dealt with it.

But this. The things that had unfolded over the past couple of days...it was _unreal._ This talk of God Cards and evil Egyptian powers and...the _god-damn _mark that had planted itself on her skin...it wasn't something she could even begin to comprehend.

Just what was happening?

* * *

She couldn't remember how long she'd been sitting there. It must've been hours, although...with things being the way they were, it wouldn't surprise her if time had somehow slowed, or in fact just stopped altogether.

She'd heard panicked voices exiting the tower at some point, but had decided against investigating; she wouldn't even know what to say. No doubt someone would yell at her for 'not being there when they needed her' or something, and she would retaliate.

Sure, she was hot-headed and rash at times, but she wasn't stupid. She knew when to back off.

She'd moved herself when the voices had disappeared into the blimp; she'd heard Joey's name mentioned a few times, and had assumed that he'd been injured. Most likely by those weird 'Shadow Games'.

_What a load of crap, _she thought as she settled herself once again, this time behind a large piece of debris. At least she was hidden now. No one would bother her.

"You're here, then."

Well, so much for that.

"If you've come here to lecture me about yelling at Joey, I don't wanna know, Yugi," she muttered, staring straight ahead at the ocean, once again trying to find a spot to focus on.

"That...isn't why I'm here," Yami murmured softly, leaning against the boulder Elise had planted herself behind, "I just wanted to check on you. You were by yourself, so I thought I'd keep you company."

"I'm not a child, Yugi. I'm 18 years old. I can look after myself," she snapped back, bringing her knees up to her chest and hugging them as she continued to stare, "besides, I like being alone."

"I see…"

There was nothing more to be said after that. The two simply stayed where they were, watching the sun glistening on the water gently. The rhythmic lapping of the waves that hit the shore acted as a metronome, and Elise couldn't help but relax her body as the sounds calmed her.

"...Joey was hurt," Yami said after a while, his eyes resting on her curled up form, "Marik injured him badly. He's-"

He stopped himself. Trying to explain the powers the Millennium Items had to Elise seemed like a fools errand; her attitude seemed to be very much like Kaiba's in that aspect, and he doubted that she really wanted to hear about things like magic and monsters, regardless of whether or not it was true.

"...So you're gonna beat him, right?"

Her words took him off guard a little, and he found himself staring at her with wide, confused eyes. She looked up at him, her eyes staring straight at him as confidence seemed to ooze out of her.

"You're gonna beat the guy who hurt him, aren't you? If you're as good of a Duellist as they say you are, you'll have no problem, right?"

He understood now. She didn't seem like the kind of girl for big speeches, but this was her way of supporting him.

"Right...I need to beat Kaiba, first, though," he responded, and she snorted, rolling her eyes as she looked away, back towards the ocean.

"Kaiba'll be no trouble. You and I both know that. He'll drag it out, but in the end, you're gonna win…"

"Oh? And what makes you so sure?" he couldn't help but feel like she knew something; something important about this tournament.

She was different than everyone else, that much he was sure of. He couldn't quite place it, but there was an air of...familiarity about her that he didn't quite understand. He couldn't fathom where this feeling came from, and although he'd tried to ignore it, he felt himself being...almost _drawn _to her.

She was linked to something. Something big. That much he was sure of.

"Woman's intuition?" she answered, snapping Yami out of his thoughts, "and c'mon, you've beaten Kaiba more than a few times, now. I think it's safe to say that today won't be any different."

"...You're right," he decided, nodding to himself.

"Always am," she joked half-heartedly, a small - almost _sad _smile, he noted - gracing her pale lips.

"...Well," he sighed after a moment, "I think I should take your advice and finish this now. First Kaiba, and then Marik."

"Don't half-ass it. Go all the way," she reminded him, before lifting her hand and gesturing for him to take it.

With a slowness that didn't seem to suit the confident demeanor the young Pharaoh usually wore, he took her hand, giving it a firm shake.

And in that moment, he felt something. Something odd.

That same familiar feeling made itself known, and he felt the warmth of her hand almost...burn him.

He pulled back, watching in slight worry as Elise stared at her hand, confusion on her face.

"...Go," she murmured after a while, "go beat Kaiba."

He nodded, and without word, he walked away, his mind now surprisingly clear as he stepped into the shadow of the tower.

She was right. He'd have no trouble, as long as he was confident.

He just had to hope his cards held the same confidence as he did.

* * *

She didn't understand.

She'd snapped at him in the hopes of turning him away, but he'd stayed, talking to her about Joey's condition, and what he was about to face.

And she'd supported him.

It was stupid. It was so stupid to say such...empty words to him. She knew he was a good duellist. That much she was sure of.

But she'd known Kaiba longer. And she also knew that Kaiba wasn't going to roll over so easily.

So then, why did she feel the need to reassure him? What was it that drove her to say those things to him?

She didn't understand. She didn't understand. She didn't understand…

She felt a sudden shock run through her as one of the two duellists summoned a monster, and the sky went dark.

Her side throbbed uncomfortably, and she hissed in pain, curling herself up further as she listened to the roar of a dragon.

Another shock, another searing hot current of agony. She felt her eyes watering, and in a last ditch attempt to block out the madness around her, she closed her eyes.

And she waited.

* * *

_Fifty-five thousand, two hundred and seventy one._

_Fifty-five thousand, two hundred and seventy two._

_Fifty-five thousand, two hundred and seventy three._

She couldn't remember when she'd started counting. Her mind was foggy, and the numbers that whizzed around in her head were the only thing keeping her grounded. Not even the sound of the waves was enough to calm her.

Her side hurt. It was throbbing and burning and it felt like sores were rubbing against the fabric of her shirt.

She wanted it to stop.

_Fifty-five thousand, two hundred and seventy four._

_Fifty-five thousand, two hundred and seventy five. _

_Fifty-five thousand, two hundred and seventy six. _

She heard voices blurring in from seemingly nowhere, and she flinched. Familiar voices, one she recognised well, while the other, although new, sending an unexpected rush of relief through her.

But, why were Seto and Joey talking?

Steeling herself, she opened her eyes, wincing as the harsh sunlight hit her dead on, blinding her for a moment. She blinked away the fatigue, holding her breath as another jolt of pain shot through her. She slowly got to her feet, using the debris she'd been leaning against as support to hoist herself up.

Seto and Joey were duelling. That was the first thing that registered in her mind.

She must've been dreaming. There was no way that Seto would openly agree to duel with him. He disliked the blonde duellist almost as much as she did. Although...she guessed _dislike _was kind of a stretch; he just annoyed her, more than anything. He kind of reminded her of one of those little dogs that had the annoying yappy barks that wouldn't shut up, even if you yelled at it.

Well, she'd never really been fond of dogs, so she guessed the comparison was pretty accurate.

She didn't see Yugi around, so she guessed it was safe to assume that he was preparing for his duel with Marik. Although, to be fair, the sour look on Seto's face proved who the victor had been; he only ever looked that way after losing a duel.

She found herself meeting the familiar royal blue of Seto's eyes, and she held her breath, staring at him from her hiding spot as he observed her in silence.

She felt so self-conscious under his gaze, she might as well have been naked. He could strip her down to nothing more than a shell of herself with just his eyes, and it irked her more than she'd care to admit.

Then again, hadn't those eyes once been something she'd looked forward to seeing? Weren't those the eyes that had once filled her with a strange...happiness?

She didn't understand.

"Hey, Kaiba! Make ya move!" Joey yelled, obviously oblivious to Elise's presence. No one else had seemed to notice her either, and for that she was grateful. At least she'd be able to sneak back into her hiding spot without being seen.

"...Fine. I draw!"

Watching as Seto drew his card with a comforting finesse, she found herself leaning against her hand, watching the duel with glazed over eyes.

Everybody could say what they wanted about Seto's attitude, but they couldn't deny that the way he duelled was as majestic as the dragons that lay in his deck.

* * *

_Well, that was entertaining, _Elise thought to herself as she slid back into her space behind the debris.

The duel had ended in Seto's favour, not surprisingly. Although Joey had put up a valiant effort, he was still no match for the ex-champ.

A part of her wanted to go over to the blue-eyed dragon duellist and congratulate him, yet she knew that if she did, all she'd receive from him in response would be a snort and a snarky remark aimed her way.

She wasn't willing to put up with any crap from Kaiba, even if he _had _won.

She watched silently as the group made their way back into the tower, before sighing deeply. That duel had been a good one, and she found herself missing the feeling of beating an opponent, or pulling off a really intricate combo.

She found herself wishing she'd ignored her pain in her duel against Joey back at the start of the tournament, and had finished him off. Then it would _her_ duelling against Kaiba, and hopefully, even Yugi.

But, then again, if she'd continued duelling, would she even be in a fit state to walk, let alone duel? She'd always found duels to be somewhat tiring, and never liked to duel more than a couple of times in a day.

Of course she wouldn't. There was no doubt in her mind that she would probably be in a hospital bed if she hadn't forfeited the duel.

"G-Guh!"

She couldn't stop the strained noise of pain that left her throat as a particularly large jolt shook through her body.

"W-What the hell…?" she groaned, glancing around her in confusion.

Her eyes widened, and her body seemed to chill at the sight before her.

There were clouds - _purple clouds _\- gathering on what she guessed was the duel field that Yugi and Marik were now duelling on. The sight of those clouds, dark and swirling around the precipice of the tower, made her tremble.

"Oh, what the _fuck…_"

The words left her throat without her even realising it, and she could feel herself standing. Her legs seemed to want to move on their own, but she couldn't bring herself to look away from the dark, ominous clouds that were settling around the tower.

She took a step forward.

Another.

And another.

Her eyes seemed to distance themselves from the clouds as her legs dragged her towards the tower.

In her head, those same clouds were beginning to shroud everything in their fog. Her thoughts were becoming jumbled, and she couldn't think straight.

It was the pain that awoke her from her trance.

The breath hitched in her throat, and her body quivered as she was hit with the sharpest pain she'd ever experienced. Her knees gave way beneath her, and she hit the floor hard. She gasped for breath, clutching at her now seemingly pulsing side. The pain was unbearable.

Make it stop. Make it stop. make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop-

Her mind went into a panic, and she struggled to her feet, and stumbled back towards the blimp, wanting nothing more than to get away from the clouds and the pain they brought with them.

She managed to climb the ramp up into the blimp, inhaling and exhaling in deep breaths as the pain hit her wave after wave.

As soon as her feet hit the metal flooring of the blimp, she collapsed, once again landing hard on her knees as the pain became too much.

_It hurts. Oh god, it hurts. Please make it stop. _

To be honest, she wasn't even sure if those thoughts were her own. She couldn't even focus enough to listen to the voice properly.

She slumped up against the wall, allowing her eyes to slide shut as she tried to ride out the pain. Her knees touched her chest again, but she no longer had the energy to wrap her arms around them. She simply lay there, trembling as the waves of agony from the mark on her side assaulted her.

* * *

It must have been at least an hour she'd been laying there, writhing in agony. She'd called out for help, even when she knew that practically everyone was up in the tower.

She was desperate. Heck, she'd even take Joey's help right now. She didn't care. She just wanted it to stop-

Her eyes snapped open, and she sat up with a jolt and a gasp.

"I...It's gone…?" she breathed out through her gasps, touching at her side and wincing as a faint throbbing hit her.

Sure, it was painful, but that pure agony from before…

It was as if it had never happened in the first place.

Getting to her feet shakily, she began to walk, using the wall for support.

She _knew _she hadn't been dreaming that pain up. It had rattled her to her core.

"...Mai…" she whispered suddenly, picking up the pace. She didn't know why, but she felt like something had changed. Something was definitely different.

She stumbled into the medical bay, her chest heaving as she looked around. Mai was still in her bed, Serenity looking over her quietly with sad eyes, and Bakura-

Her eyes widened.

"Elise? Is something wrong?" Serenity's voice perked up from the silence, and her eyes met hers.

"Bakura! Where's Bakura?!" she yelled, stabbing a finger in the direction of Bakura's makeshift bed. She was certain he'd been there before that 4-way duel had started. He'd been too injured to move, and had been stuck in the same comatose state as Mai still was.

"B-bakura…" Serenity murmured, shaking her head in disbelief.

Elise, with a horrified look on her face, dashed out of the room, Serenity jumping to her feet and calling her name.

Unbeknownst to both of them, the woman that was laying in bed twitched slightly, letting out a small groan.

"Jeez...even now, she's still so loud…"

* * *

"Bakura! Bakura!" Elise shrieked, dashing through the halls of the blimp with a panicked expression. She didn't know why, but seeing Bakura's bed empty had filled her with dread. She didn't know what to think.

She ran towards the door to the kitchen, and it swung open. Her eyes darted from side to side, desperately searching for the white-haired male.

In the next moment, she could've sworn her heart stopped.

She took a step into the room, allowing the door to slide shut behind her.

Her mind went into a frenzy.

She dashed towards the fridge, tackling the poor boy from behind as she clung to him. He flinched, letting out a yell as he looked behind him, his eyes wide and his mouth full of food.

"You're okay," she whispered, burying her face into his stripy shirt, "you're really okay…"

Bakura swallowed, confusion settling within, before he felt something wet staining his shirt. He glanced back, opening his mouth to question her, but in the next moment, he felt her hand against his face, turning him away.

"D-Don't look, idiot!" she muttered, her voice quivering, "it's just...when I knocked into you, some food went in my eye…"

"...Okay," Bakura murmured softly, his free moving up to pat her head softly, "sorry to have worried you…"

Weakness was the root of all evil, it was the cracks in foundations, the poison in water.

_Although, _Elise found herself thinking as she hugged Bakura tighter, her eyes stinging terribly with unshed tears of relief and joy, _I wouldn't really call __this __weakness…there's nothing weak about worrying about someone you care about...right?_

* * *

_And, here it is! We hope you enjoyed! Hopefully we'll have Chapter 8 sometime soon! So, until then, stay tuned!_


	8. Chapter 8

_Hey, everyone. Dawn Stone Slifer here. Sorry for the delay; life has been pretty hectic for us, and we haven't had a lot of time to write for Cursed. But, we're together once again for a while, so hopefully we'll have time to write a few chapters. Thanks for the support. We really appreciate every favourite, alert and review we get. SO thank you. We hope you enjoy this chapter._

_~Dawn Stone Slifer~_

* * *

It had been eight days since the resolve of Battle City.

Initially, things had been chaos - people from the press all the way to kids on the street - wanted to speak to the King of Games.

Anyone who had any interest in Duel Monsters knew the name Yugi Muto. But that name came with a price.

Elise had little sympathy for the boy, due to the fact that the attention he was gaining was, at least for the moment, positive. People wanted to know the brains underneath the spiky hair, the passion that flowed through his veins as he duelled.

She was all too familiar with that kind of attention, and it was nowhere near as unpleasant as the questions she was presently being faced with.

Press made her anxious at the best of times, reporters made her skin crawl and every time a boom mike would hover in peripheral vision, she wanted nothing more than to shove it up the unfortunate soul who was at the other end.

* * *

_**'La Meilleur to faliure'**_

_Twelve time Duel Monster Champion Elise Griffin has just suffered a defeat that will be hard to live down. After just securing her fifth European Championship title in Paris earlier this month, Miss Griffin has suffered a drastic loss after being defeated by a rookie dueller in the very first round of Battle City, a Japanese Duel Monster Championship which promised to be the biggest tournament hosted to date. _

_Some say that the pressure may be getting to the young duellist, as sources say that not only did Elise lose the duel but if fact she surrendered during the fight, physically collapsing from the strain-_

Elise scrunched up the newspaper, balling it in her fists before throwing it across the road, ignoring the angered glares she received from a couple of old ladies walking by who tittered about 'teenagers having no respect these days.'

Elise glanced up the street before pulling out her phone to check for any new messages.

It had been a week with no contact from any of the others; the hasty goodbyes and exchanging of phone numbers had been their last moments together after landing on the mainland. With the few glimpses of the newspapers being the closest form of contact she had had to them, Elise had been surprised to receive an invitation to hang out in the form of a text message from Yugi. It had taken a whole four hours for her to reply, debating in her mind whether or not she should go.

Not only had her week been spent avoiding the press at all costs, but there was something much closer to home that she dearly wished to forget. A childish ignorance had lead her to hope that the manifestation on her hip would dissipate with the conclusion of the tournament.

It had not.

Although, maybe due to wishful thinking, it had seemed to stop glowing vividly, choosing a golden copper colour to adorn her skin. However, now she thought about it, her memory couldn't really recall if it ever _had_ glowed golden, or shimmered at all. It could have been exhaustion and a form of hallucination rather than any other crack-pot theory her mind could come up with, that had caused the golden webs to seemingly dance across her skin.

No matter whether it was glowing or not, Elsie still wanted to keep it under wraps, which was one of the main reasons she had wanted to decline Yugi's invitation.

* * *

"Hey Elise! You came!" A yell stirred her from her reverie, and she quickly located the owner of the voice. A young boy, spiky hair bouncing wildly as he ran, was waving his hand wildly in the air, running her way. A small chuckle escaped her lips; he was so innocent with so much spirit in everything he did.

"Hey, Yugi. Anyone else with you?" Elise asked as the boy neared her.

"No, not yet. Tristan is picking up Serenity, Mai's now on her way, Tea is helping Bakura, and I think Joey said something about biking… although he left his bike at my house the other day, so I don't know how he'll quite achieve that. I'm just so glad you could make it Elise, I really wasn't sure if you'd agree…"

"Oh?" Elise tilted her head to the side. True, she had nearly turned down the invitation, but she wasn't sure she liked everyone else thinking that.

"Yeah… I mean, I know it's been rough on you… the press can be brutal sometimes… and... it's not like they were there at the tournament… they don't really know what you went through…"

"Yeah, well no one does."

She hadn't meant to snap, especially not at Yugi. She didn't miss the brief look of hurt on Yugi's face, before he managed to compose himself.

"I… I didn't mean…" His eyes dropped to the ground, and a soft blush crept across his cheeks.

Elise turned away from him, clenching her fists against the wall she had been leaning on. She took a deep breath, letting the warm sea air hit her for the first time.

"Sorry Yugi. That was out of line, I apologize. It's just… This tournament hit hard, y'know? It-"

"Hey Yugi! Elise! Looks like we weren't the first ones to arrive, Serenity! Oh well, there's still plenty of room on the beach! We'll be able to get a prime spot for today!"

Neither Yugi nor Elise turned to the newcomers, but fell silent all the same. A brief pressure on her shoulder caused Elise to glance down. Yugi sent her a warm smile, his hand giving a reassuring squeeze, before he turned to greet Tristan.

* * *

"So Joey… where did you lock up your bike?" Yugi turned to his best friend, a mischievous grin dawning his face.

"I… uh… up- I mean, over there..." Joey's bright red face looked as if he'd been out in the sun for more than a few hours.

"Huh? I don't see it anywhere, do you think it's been stolen?" Tea asked, squinting towards the pier, her hand shielding her eyes from the sun.

"Nah… it's behind the… the… building… yeah that's it, I locked it up in the shade so it wouldn't get hurt in the sun…"

"It's not a dog, Joey…. Bikes can't die…"

"Nyeh… what do you know, my bike might have feelings!" He crossed his arms in defiance.

"What's got Joey so mad?" A new voice entered the fray, one that had Joey instantly jumping to attention.

"H-ha, nothin'! Nothin' at all, Mai…"

"We were just asking where Joey had parked his bi-"

"W-wow! The weather sure is great today! W-why don't we go for a swim, Mai!?" Joey was up faster than quick play spell card. Before she could protest, Joey had grabbed Mai's arm and was stomping down to the sea.

"Oh dear… I've never seen him so flustered. But a quick swim sounds like a great idea, huh Yugi?" Tea stood, removed her cover up and beckoned for the others to join her.

"Yeah, nothing like the cool sea on a hot day!" Yugi also made to his feet, while Tea, Tristan and Serenity raced each other down to the water's edge, joining Bakura and Duke who were having an all out water fight.

"Are you coming in, Elise?" Yugi questioned as he removed his top shyly, holding the article of clothing in front of his chest.

"Nah, I'll stay and watch the stuff," Elise gestured to everyone's belongings.

"Well.. If you're sure…could you do me a favour… could you look after my puzzle for me… I'd hate to lose it in the sea."

"Sure. No problem."

He removed the chain from around his neck and laid it on the ground next to Elise. Finally tossing his t-shirt to the side, he began his walk down towards the others, glancing back only once towards his new found friend. She wasn't quite ready to open up to him, but he was okay with that. He would wait however long he needed to if it meant he could help her. After all, he saw right through her shallow facade that she put on.

* * *

Elise let out a sigh, settling down on her elbows as she took in the sunshine. Days like this filled her with an...odd comfort, so to speak, and she had often found herself wanting to take in every little piece of sunshine she could, as if she were afraid she would lose it.

She didn't really know why. The inner machinations of her mind confused even her sometimes.

She let out another sigh, allowing her eyes to slide shut as she slid down into a laying position on the spread out beach towel beneath her.

What she didn't notice, was a single pair of purple eyes staring intently at her.

* * *

Yami honestly felt bad, watching her like this.

She was clueless of his presence, that much he was certain of. He'd been drifting around in spirit form ever since Yugi had set the puzzle down on the sand, and the fact that she hadn't even looked his way indicated how much she was aware of.

Oh well, so much for her being able to see him.

Both he and Yugi had discussed the events that had unfolded on the blimp eight days ago, including Elise in great detail.

After all, he clearly remembered her acknowledging both him and his partner's presence when she had just woken from being knocked unconscious.

He still hadn't received an explanation for that, and he doubted he ever would.

But that wasn't important right now. All he wanted were some answers.

A coppery glint caught the Pharaoh's eye, and he glanced down, his eyes widening at the sight before him.

Elise's shirt had ridden up when she had settled herself on the beach towel, showing off the skin of her hip clearly. The tattoo - at least, that's what he _thought _it was - was in plain sight, it's vine-like pattern searing a path along her skin like a wildfire.

He slowly leaned down, his hand reaching out to touch her skin.

As soon as his translucent fingertips met with the skin of her hip, he felt a jolt run through him. He shot back, his eyes wide as he watched Elise squirm a little, a look of discomfort on her face. Her fingers instinctively went to grip at her skin, wanting to ease the pain. However, after a few feeble scratches against the skin, she settled for gripping at the towel beneath her, exhaling in a shaky breath as a groan left her lips.

He watched in complete and utter shock as the pattern on her skin began to contort and glow slightly, an ominous golden hue emanating from it.

_This is no tattoo_, he found himself thinking as he gulped slightly, _this is a __**Mark**__..._

* * *

She'd fallen asleep at some point.

The heat and soothing sounds of the ocean had lulled her into a relaxing nap, and she rolled over, sighing in content.

Her eyes snapped open and the breath left her body in a sharp exhale as her exposed side came into contact with boiling hot sand.

"Shit!" she hissed, jolting upright as her skin began to throb terribly. She lifted up her shirt, her breath catching in her throat as she noticed that the mark that adorned her body was moving again; twisting and coiling its way around her like her skin was a blank canvas.

"_Are you okay, Elise?!" _

A deep familiar voice met her ears, and she pulled her shirt down, ignoring the pain that hit her when her shirt touched her searing hot skin.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fi-"

Her eyes widened when she turned to look at what she thought was Yugi. However, she was greeted with nothing.

"...Fine…" she completed her sentence in a whisper, her eyes trailing over to the water, where she saw Yugi, enjoying himself with his friends. It _couldn't _have been him.

"...Great, now I'm hearing things...just perfect…"

She pulled her shirt up once again with a huff, glaring down at her hip.

"This is your doing, isn't it? I _knew _you'd cause trouble...god..._dammit!"_

Her fist came into contact with the sand, and she winced a little as the hot grains burned her.

"...I never should've entered Battle City…"

The words slipped out of her mouth with no warning. Although, in the back of her head, she'd been replaying those words ever since the tournament had ended; after all, it had brought her nothing but pain and confusion.

She should've known. Pain and confusion seemed to follow her everywhere, if she was honest. Ever since she'd left…

She shook her head, banishing the thoughts from her mind. No, she wasn't going to think of her past. Not now. She'd put that all behind her, left it in the past.

She was a different person now. She was better. _Stronger. _

"...Heh...who are you kidding, Elise?" she let out a bitter chuckle, shaking her head slowly.

Strong? She wasn't strong at all. Even Yugi could see that.

Ever since she could remember, she'd been clinging to people, latching herself onto them like a parasite to sustain herself. Sure, she put on a tough face, but heck, if _Yugi _of all people could see through it, then what was the point of trying?

"...Fuck this."

She got to her feet, dusting herself down as a scowl lit up her face.

Fuck this. Fuck her _friends _who supposedly were looking out for her. Fuck the tournament. Fuck this...abomination on her hip. Fuck everything.

She didn't care anymore.

With that same scowl plastered on her face, she turned and began to walk away from the group that were still splashing in the water, away from the sunshine and light and happiness, away from the Millennium Puzzle that housed a speechless and worried Pharaoh.

She was better off alone.

That way, the only one she'd have to be strong for was herself.


	9. Chapter 9

_Hey, everyone. Long time no speak. Sorry for the lack of updates; life has caught up with us! Thankfully, we have this chapter to give you. Enjoy, guys._

* * *

Somewhere in Domino City, three doors slammed at once.

Shoes were discarded at the door, thrown haphazardly to the side as they entered their residence.

Muffled footsteps sounded on the carpet as they went to settle down for the evening.

Three knocks were heard against those same three doors, all at the same time.

They'd made their way back, pulling their doors open with laziness.

All at once, their eyes had widened at the empty doorway in front of them.

All at once, they had lowered their gaze to the plain white envelope that sat in front of their doors.

And all at once, one emotion bubbled in the three.

Pure, innocent, curiosity.

* * *

"_Uh...hey, Elise. It's Yugi...I just called to...well, to see if you're okay. You left pretty suddenly yesterday, and the other m-someone said you weren't feeling well. I just wanted to see if you're feeling better, is all...a-and if you want to talk about anything, I'm here! I don't want to pry or anything, but I've been told I'm a good listener, so...just...let us know you're alright, Elise. We're your friends, and we're worried...okay? Oh, and one more thing; did you, by any chance, get a letter delivered to your door last night? Well, not really __**delivered**__, but...it was just...there, I guess? I got one, and so did Joey, and...I don't know. I guess...it kinda felt like you'd get one too, y'know? Anyway, we're all gonna meet up to discuss it later, so if you want to tag along, then feel free to! And if you don't...well, that's fine...but just...text me to let me know or...something...a-anyway, I'm gonna go. Sorry for wasting your time...B-Bye!"_

Elise sighed, clicking her tongue as she held her phone above her head, staring at the screen with blank eyes. She'd listened to that voicemail _God _knows how many times, and yet still...her brain couldn't really comprehend his words.

One thing she did understand, however, was that that envelope she'd received last night had given her a bad feeling. And if Yugi and Joey had gotten one, too, then they were in the same boat as she was.

Something just didn't feel right.

She'd opened the envelope last night, surprised when inside, there had been only two things. A single Duel Monsters card, and a ticket. At least, that's what she thought they were, to start with. When she'd turned the card over to see what card it was - she'd only seen the back of the card, and had just assumed that it was normal - she'd been greeted with a blank card, devoid of anything but the words, 'THIS SATURDAY. DOMINO PIER. 11AM. BRING LUGGAGE &amp; DUEL DISKS. DON'T BE LATE' on it's surface.

The ticket was for a boat, as far as she could tell. It was a hastily-made looking thing, and she guessed that the person who had produced said tickets had been in quite a hurry. The destination remained a mystery to her; the only thing that gave her any kind of clue at all were the words 'DLST ISLD' that had been printed in all capital letters on the centre of the ticket. She didn't even want to begin to think what _that _meant.

A part of her had honestly been curious; what kind of person had sent this to her? And why did they demand so adamantly that she attend this little...get together they'd arranged?

At first, her brain had thought Kaiba. She'd quickly ruled him out, however; this wasn't his style. He'd be flashy and over the top if he had something to announce. Unless, of course, what he wanted to discuss was top-secret.

Nah, he still wouldn't do this kind of thing. He was more of the 'kidnap you in the middle of the night to talk to you' kind of guys, not the 'mysteriously leave a note at your door' kind of guy. She knew him well enough to rule him out of the picture.

So then, who? Judging by Yugi's voicemail, he hadn't sent it, and neither had Joey. She wracked her brain for a face; someone who would do this kind of thing.

Her mind came up blank.

"...Dammit," she muttered under breath, biting her lip, "I wanted to keep away from them...but this is gonna bug me if I don't go...tch…"

She let out a groan, before clicking on the call icon of her phone, and bringing it to her ear. A few rings later, and someone picked up.

"Hello?"

"Yugi, it's me. Listen...you got that card and ticket, too, right?"

* * *

"What the hell is this?"

Elise couldn't stop the words from leaving her mouth as she stepped forwards, the ticket and card gripped tightly in her hand.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Hun. It's reminding me an awful lot of Duellist Kingdom, though…" Mai's voice sounded behind her, and she turned, watching as the older woman moved to stand next to her, staring up at the boat - or rather, _cruise ship_ \- with a frown on her face.

"Huh. Never competed in that one."

"You're lucky you didn't. That's when I met these dweebs," Mai sighed as she smiled, pointing back to Yugi and Joey who stood behind them, staring up in awe at the ship. Joey double-taked as Mai's words met his ears, and he scowled at her, not impressed.

"Whaddaya mean, 'these dweebs'?!"

"It was a joke, Joseph~"

Elise turned back to the ship, her eyes narrowing slightly as she watched a few crew members carrying boxes aboard.

"...You're not the only one with a bad feeling, Elise," Yugi piped up as he moved to stand next to her, sending her a timid smile, "I don't like this, either...something's weird…"

"And yet, here we are anyway," she muttered, not really speaking to Yugi, but more to herself, "we just couldn't resist coming to have a look...could we?"

"...I guess not," there was a smile in Yugi's voice, "after all, as soon as I saw the words, 'duel disk', it got me really curious."

"Can't stay away from the card game for that long, huh?"

"I don't have a choice. Being the King of Games means I always have to be ready for someone to challenge me…"

"Sounds tough."

There was a hint of sarcasm in her tone, but she couldn't be bothered to hide it. She too, knew what it was like to constantly be expected to have her A-game with her. And the fact that the one time she hadn't, the press had been on her like a pack of hungry hounds, irritated her to no end.

She'd never been particularly bothered by the press; the more positivity they spread through their articles on her duelling, the better off she would be.

"Well...congrats, anyway. On winning the tournament. You're a good duellist."

Her praise was sincere, even if it was blunt. No matter how much she wanted to be away from everyone right now, she still meant the words she threw at him. She wouldn't deny he was a great duellist; he'd bested Kaiba with what could only be described as ease, and she knew that took skill.

* * *

"Excuse me! May I have your attention, please?"

A woman's voice interrupted the chatter, and all heads turned towards the front of the ship. A young woman stood in formal business attire, holding a thick stack of papers. She glanced around her at the slowly growing crowd, before sighing and pushing her glasses up her nose.

"There are less of you than I thought there would be...no matter, to those of you who are here, thank you for getting here on time. We thank you for your patience. I understand that you all may have questions, but let me assure you, they'll be answered in due time."

Elise broke her gaze away from the woman, choosing to look around her at the quickly-growing crowd. Her eyes widened slightly, and she leaning down, nudging Yugi.

"Hey, Yugi...aren't all these guys-"

"Yeah...they're the exact same crowd from Battle City. I recognise a lot of them…" Yugi answered, looking around him.

A few faces, Elise recognised. Weevil Underwood, Rex Raptor. Throw in a few other competitors she'd duelled before, and you had yourselves a tournament.

"...And that's why our sponsor has decided to host a completely new tournament."

Elise clicked her tongue. She'd figured as much. She glanced down at Yugi once again, raising an eyebrow at him. He met her gaze, and chuckled a little, scratching the back of his head.

"I called it," he murmured, and she couldn't stop a smile from breezing its way onto her lips as she looked back up at the announcer.

"Now, if you would be so kind to fill in the appropriate forms, we can take you to the island this tournament will be hosted on."

"Aw, yeah!" Joey's excited tone yelled out, "just what I need! I was thinking that there needed to be another tournament to get my blood pumpin'!"

Mai quickly shut him up, bonking him atop the head with her fist as her face lit up in a blush as a few heads turned.

"Shut up! You're embarrassing me!"

Elise couldn't help but smirk. She knew they were probably both clueless, but Mai and Joey looked good together. After all, it was pretty obvious that-

"Hey, Elise?"

Elise was snapped out of her thoughts by Yugi's voice. She glanced down, shooting him a questioning look.

"What?"

"Are you going to be entering? The tournament, I mean?"

She inhaled deeply, looking up at the clear blue sky. She closed her eyes for a moment, allowing the sound of the sea and wind to calm her, before opening them.

"Yeah. I'm definitely entering."

She had to prove she was strong. If not to anyone else, then to herself. She had to prove that she didn't need to anyone to be strong. To beat the odds. To beat this mark that had etched itself onto her skin.

"Definitely," she repeated, before looking down at Yugi.

"And you?"

"Yeah. No way I would miss an opportunity to duel against you. I've heard great things about your duelling, after all!"

* * *

"Well, this sucks ass."

Two days. It was going to take two whole days to get to this 'special tournament location' that the staff kept talking about. Honestly, Elise felt like diving off the side of the ship and swimming back to shore. She was determined to prove herself, but she wasn't sure if she was _that _determined.

"You said it, Eli…"

"...Don't call me that, Joey."

"Sorry."

She went silent, happy with his apology. She tilted her head back, staring out of the window and watching the waves sloshing back and forth. If she kept the staring contest long enough, she could probably doze off…

Elise, Joey and Serenity were currently slumped in the 'lobby' of the ship. Yugi and the others - Elise had found out that the rest of Yugi's little friendship group were tagging along as well - had gone to sort out arrangements for rooms and food, so the three of them had decided to hold down the fort until they got back.

Although, Elise wasn't sure _why _she needed to hold down the fort. It was the lobby.

"...Hey, Elise."

Joey's voice piped up from the couch opposite her, and she glanced up, eying him lazily.

"What?"

"...What's the deal with you an' Kaiba? I'm not tryin' to be rude or anything, but sometimes you're like a mirror image of the guy."

"Why do you want to know?"

She managed to keep her voice level as she spoke, but she looked away, not wanting Joey to see the way she'd grimaced at the mention of the duellist.

"Just curious. I'm not the only one. Everyone wants to know," he shrugged, yawning and stretching out in his seat, "but hey, if you don't wanna talk about it, it's fine. I'll just jump to my own conclusion. Like...I'm gonna believe that you _dated _the guy or something…"

"...Believe whatever you want to believe, then."

She didn't feel like arguing with him. The rocking of the boat was making her queasy, plus she was too tired to care.

"Y'know, Elise?"

"What?"

"...You ain't so bad. There were times during Battle City that I _really _didn't like you, but now...you're not bad at all."

"...Thanks? I think?"

"Don't mention it. Take it as a compliment from one duellist to another. Besides," he scratched his head, sending her a cheeky grin that she didn't quite catch, "I still owe ya for lettin' me win that duel."

"Heh," she snorted, "_let _you win? Dude, I didn't _let _you win at all. You got lucky."

"...Fair enough," he copied her, letting out a snort of his own, "whatever you say~..."

"...Y'know, watching you and Elise bicker reminds me of you and Tristan, Joey," Serenity murmured, letting out a carefree laugh.

Joey began to converse with his sister, joking and laughing with her and Elise, not feeling like joining in on the happy conversation, covered her eyes with her arm and inhaled deeply.

Maybe if she slept a little, she'd could ignore the coiling of the mark that adorned her hip that honestly felt like a worm was wiggling just underneath her skin.

* * *

She must've fallen asleep at some point, for when she woke up, she found herself in an empty lobby. The room was dark, which hinted that it was late at night, or early hours of the morning. She slid up out of her seat, stretching and cracking her bones, before looking around her.

She didn't feel like sleeping now. And she didn't feel like going to her room, either.

"Outside it is, then," she murmured to herself, walking towards the doors that led out onto the deck.

The night was surprisingly warm, despite how far out to sea they were. The wind whipped at her skin, but she honestly relished the feeling as she made her way around the deck, aiming for the front of the ship. If anywhere had a good view, it would be there.

She'd always loved ships, even when she was a child. She loved the feeling of the wind against her bare skin, and the smell of the salty sea air, and the cries of the gulls flying overhead.

Although, she guessed there weren't any gulls around at this late at night. But still, the memory made her smile.

She quickly made her way to the front of the ship, wasting no time in leaning against the metal railing and heaving out a deep sigh.

That was another thing that made her love boats. The utter...silence you got at night was unbeatable. The only sound you got was the lapping of the waves against the boat.

She couldn't help but smile as she closed her eyes and listened to the water below her. It almost felt like she was being carried away by the waves…

"There you are."

A deep voice caught her off guard, and she jumped a little. She turned her head quickly, about to snap out an insult at the person who'd made her jump, but paused when she noticed the familiar head of hair.

"...Hey, Yugi," she muttered, turning back to look at the ocean ahead.

"...Do you mind if I stand with you for a while?"

"If you can handle the cold, then go ahead."

She listened as the man's footsteps got closer, and she glanced to her left as she saw him lean against the railing.

"...It's quiet out here," he murmured after a moment, and she nodded, looking back at the water.

"Yep. I like quiet."

"I see…"

Everything went silent after that. The two simply stood there, side by side, watching the waves as they hit the boat.

"...Tell me something, Yugi," she started, causing the young man - or rather, the young Pharaoh at this point - to look at her, "what do you think this tournament's _really _about?"

"...I can't be certain," he said after a while, "but I've had a bad feeling ever since that envelope arrived...I can sense that something dark is about to unfold…"

"You can _sense _it? What, like ESP or something?" She joked, smirking.

"...Not exactly," Yami murmured, watching her out of the corner of his eye, "rather...I have a certain...affiliation with the darkness...it's been a part of me for a while, actually…"

"So like, you're into some kind of dark magic stuff, then? Hey, it's cool, I won't judge," she continued, shaking her head a little. He was pulling the wool over her eyes. He had to be.

"I myself, don't practise dark magic, but...maybe there _was _a time when I did...who knows? Not even I remember back that far…"

"Hey, you're not _that _old. I'm probably older than you, y'know."

"Somehow I doubt that…"

Elise felt a cold chill run through her as his words hit her. She didn't know why, but she wanted to believe him.

But magic...it didn't exist. There was no way.

Any other time, she would've disregarded it immediately, but now...after everything that had happened over Battle City, she felt like she had to at least _consider _it. And if the mark that moved on her skin wasn't proof enough that something dark was at work here, then she didn't know what was.

She sighed, looking straight ahead at the water, although her eyes became distant.

"...Maybe you did used to be able to use magic...that would explain why I keep hearing two of you."

Yami jolted back, causing Elise to flinch slightly. She watched as he stared at her in shock, opening and closing his mouth.

"...Yugi?"

"You...I was right...you _can _hear both of us...I wasn't mistaken…" he turned back to the railing, leaning against it as he inhaled deeply, before exhaling. She slowly turned back as well, staring straight down now at the almost black water.

"...I don't really get it, but...I always felt like you and the...other you were very different...so, which one's the _real _Yugi? Or are you _both _the real Yugi?"

She didn't know compelled her to say those words. At any other time - literally any other time at all - she wouldn't have even thought the idea of two souls in one body was possible, but now...with the way Yugi reacted, she was sure that _something _along those lines was happening. Either that, or he was crazy. That seemed much more easier to accept.

"...I'm not the real Yugi. The real Yugi is...well, let's just say he's asleep right now. The Yugi you know is a lot more timid and soft-spoken than I am. "

"Then who are you?"

Yami paused, the words getting caught in his throat. How did he even begin to explain something he didn't know himself.

"...I don't know who I am," he answered quietly after a long silence. Elise's eyes widened, and she glanced his way, watching his face change.

"I have no memories of who I am. I know I existed a long time ago, back in Ancient Egyptian times, but...that's all…"

"Not even your name?"

"Not even my name."

She felt a pinch of sadness settle in her gut as the now nameless man spoke to her. Her brain was still laughing at her, telling her how much of a fool she was for believing him, but...she knew he wasn't lying. The look on his face said it all.

"Well...you don't need a name to have an identity. Not really. I've changed mine so many times, I don't really know who I am, anymore, either…that's just between us, though..."

Yami watched her in awed silence as she closed her eyes. A sharp gust of wind hit her face, and her hair, although still tied in that familiar ponytail, shot out behind her harshly. She opened her eyes slowly, her gaze now hard as she stared ahead.

"Me and Yugi are linked, so...I take his identity when I need to...we have a bond…"

"That's good. You're lucky to have someone like Yugi."

"I am...we share a bond too, you know."

"Huh?"

She couldn't help but look at him, her hair whipping at her skin as he looked her straight in the eyes, his gaze boring into her own.

"We share a bond, Elise. I wasn't sure at first, but now I know you can hear us both, I'm sure of it. That mark on your body links us somehow."

"Wha…t?"

Her mind went blank. She thought no one else knew about her mark. Her eyes darted to her hip quickly, and she felt her body go cold. She looked back at Yami, freezing when his gaze pierced her own once again.

"H...What do you know about this mark…?"

Yami went silent, simply staring at her, watching her reaction.

"...Please, you have to tell me what you know...this mark...I don't know what it does, and...please, you have to tell me!"

She reached forwards, gripping at Yami's jacket as she stared into his eyes, pleading with him. If he knew what this was, then he must know how to get rid of it! He just had to!

If he got rid of it then...she could finally go back to her old life. She could finally be normal again.

"_Please, Pharaoh!"_

The words that left her mouth were not her own. Both Elise and Yami gasped, and she jumped back, her eyes wide. She covered her mouth with her hand, staring at him with an expression that showed fear. She opened her mouth to speak once again, to beg him to tell her what he knew.

This was her chance to get some answers.

"Haze? What the hell are you doing here?!"


End file.
